Grandma Jailed For Drug Smuggling

A Shepherd's Bush grandmother, caught at Gatwick Airport with 13 kilos of cannabis – worth £35,000 – in her suitcases, was jailed for twenty months today.

Marcia Cynthia Rattray, 50, of Wendell Road pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court to importing the cannabis from Jamaica on September 14.

The court heard she had collected the suitcases from a contact during her ten-day trip and was promised payment of £500-£600 for smuggling the drugs.

The trip had been set up by a man who knew she was in financial difficulties and was described as a “bad influence.”

Judge Shani Barnes told the mother-of-two, who has five grandchildren: “You have clearly had a difficult and troubled path through adulthood, with several previous convictions.

“You had reached a very low point in August. You had got into a great amount of debt and you were about to lose your home.

“You could see no way out and there were other influences on you and you did something that is extremely serious.

“Bringing thirteen kilos of cannabis into this country is a very serious offence.

“This was a decision made with all the pressure you were under and the money you were to receive will be little reward compared to the time you will spend in custody.

“I hope this is a low point and that you do not come back before the courts again.”