Cocaine smuggler jailed for 11 years

A man who tried to smuggle more than £100,000 worth of cocaine through Bristol Airport in his trainers was sentenced to 11 years prison.

The Spanish national, Francisco Perez Becerra from Seville had flown with 2.8kg of the drug hidden inside the soles of his footwear in September of last year, when a customs officer found the weight of his trainers seemed suspicious. The officer at Bristol decided to X-ray the shoes where upon he spotted the packages.

The 39 year old flew from The Gambia into Bristol making stops at Senegal and Brussels before arriving into the city. It was a routine stop for customs when they did a baggage search and found the haul.

At court customs officials said they had took his mobile phone for analysis and found that several calls were made between Becerra and mobile in the Bristol city centre area on the day of his arrival. They concluded that this was an organised import of illegal substances into the UK via Bristol.

“This 11-year prison sentence shows regional airports like Bristol are not a soft touch for drug smuggling,” said the assistant director of criminal investigation for HM Customs and Revenue, Andrew Pavlinic.

Thanks to www.thisisbristol.co.uk for the above quote, for more details on this story please visit their website.