WIREDGOV

A man who tried to smuggle thousands of MDMA tablets into the UK in a neck pillow has been jailed for seven years.

Officers carried out an x-ray on a travel pillow he was carrying after noticing it was suspiciously heavy. The images revealed it contained thousands of tablets.

Further packages of tablets were also found hidden in his luggage.

The case was passed on to National Crime Agency investigators and in interviews Nicatia admitted to them he was being paid for trafficking the pills.

He was charged with importing class A drugs, pleaded guilty, and on Friday 9 October at Hull Crown Court he was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Paul Tallentire, operations manager for the NCA’s border investigation team, said:

“Nicatia attempted to smuggle around 25,000 tablets into the UK, which would have had a potential street value of approximately £200,000.

“Despite his deliberate efforts to evade detection, working with our Border Force colleagues we have successfully prevented these class A drugs making it onto the UK streets and nightclubs.

“We are determined to do all we can to disrupt and stop drug traffickers and the organised criminal networks involved in this illegal trade.”

Mark Robinson, Assistant Director for Border Force Yorkshire & Humber, said:

“We welcome this sentencing which sends a strong message to people who think they can smuggle drugs into the United Kingdom.

“Border Force officers use a range of high-tech search equipment to detect illegal substances and prevent them reaching the UK’s streets.

“As this case demonstrates, we work closely with law enforcement colleagues in the NCA to disrupt drug smugglers and put those responsible behind bars.”