UK: pensioner jailed for drug smuggling
A 77 year old grandmother and her 49 year old daughter were today jailed for a total of 27 years.
The pairwere sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court for smuggling 16 kilos of cocaine, with an estimated street value of £800,000 into theUK. Customs Officers intercepted them arriving at the Port of Dover in March this year.
Ambrozine Heron (77), Paulette Chambers (49), both from Smethwick, Birmingham, were jailed for 13 and 14 years respectively.
The Court heard that on Friday 21 March 2008, HMRC officers stopped a Nissan Pathfinder car, registered to Heron under the Mobility Scheme for disabled drivers, at Dover's Eastern Docks. Officers searched the car and found two large shopping bags in between the second and third row of seats. Each bag contained approximately twenty tins of fruit concealing cocaine.
The judge said that Heron's role was to provide cover for the crime in the form of her advanced age and medical condition.
Due Diligence Info:
Ambrozine Heron, DOB 16/07/1931, of Flat 24 The Mews, Bearwood Road, Smethwick, B66 4LJ.
Paulette Chambers, DOB 21/06/1959, of Flat 24 The Mews, Bearwood Road, Smethwick,
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