A cocaine smuggler, caught with £160,000 worth of the drug after stepping off a flight from Barbados, was jailed for four-and-a-half years today.
Former steel erector Peter James McLoughlin, 63, of Adelaide Terrace, Ilfracombe, Devon claims he was trying to settle an £8,000 debt.
He pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court (pictured) to importing 987 gms of 62% pure cocaine at Gatwick Airport on January 24.
Prosecutor Shekinah Anson said it was 6am when McLoughlin was stopped in the green channel in the south terminal after departing a flight from Bridgetown.
“His bags were x-rayed and the package of cocaine was found in the base of his suitcase. He was a courier motivated by financial advantage.”
McLoughlin’s lawyer Mr. Rob Beighton said: “I suggest it was not a significant role. He is a courier pressed into this importation because of his dire financial situation.
“Health concerns forced him out of his trade in 2005 and he worked as a barman until 2009.
“Since then he has lived on benefits and fell into debt, owing eight thousand pounds, and had an overdraft he was struggling to pay.
“Via contacts he made while working in the pub it was suggested he make a trip as a courier and bring a bag back to the UK.
“He knows nothing about those who organised the trip and it was only when they persisted and offered him money that he accepted.
“He had nothing to do with the onward sale or sourcing the drugs in a foreign country or the concealment of the drugs.
“He has received absolutely nothing, there was no up front payment, and he will never receive it.”
Judge Thomas Joseph told McLaughlin, whose family travelled from Devon for the case: “You brought in a large quantity of cocaine and knew what you were doing and knew that you were taking a risk.
“The fact you had debts is no excuse. Cocaine is a disgusting and dangerous drug that brings all sorts of harm to those addicted to it.
“Couriers perform an absolutely essential part in the chain of bringing drugs into this country.”
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