28 YEARS JAIL FOR CARDIFF AIRPORT COCAINE SMUGGLERS

5 Jan 2006 05:45 PM

Three persons purporting to be members of the same family were jailed today (Thursday 5 January) for attempting to smuggle cocaine worth over £275k into the UK via Cardiff International Airport.

Gbolahan Ayodeji Odunlami (61), Maria Olufunmilayo Odunlami (40) and her daughter Mariam Yeside Aranmolate (18) are Nigerian nationals. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) officers stopped them at Cardiff International Airport on 10 March 2005 after arriving on a flight from Amsterdam.

Speaking after the case Bob Lyne, HMRC Senior Business Manager, Detection said: "The smuggling of Class A drugs causes great social and economic harm. This seizure demonstrates HMRC's commitment to tackling this serious criminality, wherever it is found."

Judge Stephen Hopkins said:
"Cocaine is a well known pernicious substance which causes misery and degradation and I want these sentences to send a message to anyone erroneously believing that Cardiff International Airport is a soft touch for the smuggling of drugs."

Judge Hopkins also recommended the deportation of the guilty parties at the conclusion of their sentences and he commended the work of the uniformed detection officer Jill Jones in detecting the offence.

Customs officers checking the parties' luggage noticed the smell of glue, which prompted them to make a more detailed examination. Within the two briefcases and shoulder bag belonging to the family were concealed compartments. These in turn hid five kilos of cocaine.

Gbolahan Ayodeji Odumlami and Mariam Yeside Aranmolate pleaded not guilty at their trial at Cardiff Crown Court but were convicted on 23 November 2005 and returned to Cardiff Crown Court yesterday for sentencing. Mr. Odumlami was sentenced to 12 years in jail while Mariam Yeside Aranmolate was sentenced to eight years. Maria Olufunmilavo Odunlami, who pleaded guilty to the charge at an earlier hearing, was sentenced to eight years.

This case was successfully prosecuted by the newly established Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO). RCPO is an independent prosecuting authority which reports to the Attorney General, and is responsible for the prosecution of all HMRC cases in England & Wales.

Notes for editors

1. Defendants details:
Maria Odunlami dob 10/07/1955;
Gbolahan Odunlami dob 12/02/1944; and
Mariam Aranmolate dob 17/10/1987. All three are from Lagos, Nigeria.

2. HM Revenue & Customs has the UK lead for reducing the availability of Class A drugs by detecting and deterring the smuggling of illegal drugs and other restricted and prohibited goods, and by
disrupting/dismantling organised drug crime groups, and by the recovery of drug related criminal assets.

3. The Revenue & Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) was created by Royal Assent on 7 April 2005. An independent prosecuting authority, RCPO reports directly to the Attorney General, and is responsible for prosecuting some of the largest drug and fraud cases in the UK. For further information about RCPO please contact their press office on 020 7865 5666.

4. Anyone with information about illegally imported drugs, tobacco or alcohol or about VAT or fuel fraud can speak to a Revenue & Customs officer in complete confidence at Customs Confidential 24 hours a day on 0800 59 5000. Or fax 0800 528 0506, write to Freepost SEA9391, PO Box 100, DA12 2BR, or e-mail
customs.confidential@hmce.gsi.gov.uk

Issued by HM Revenue & Customs Media Relations Team

Website www.hmrc.gov.uk