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22/09/2015
Man Jailed For Bringing Suitcase Of Cannabis Into UK
A 20-year-old man has been jailed for three years and eight months after being caught carrying a suitcase full of cannabis through Edinburgh Airport.
Henry Alden, of St Andrews Road in Portsmouth was stopped by Border Force officers as he stepped off a flight from Barcelona on 19 May, 2015.
He was carrying a small plastic bag containing a change of clothes and a phone charger, but when officers searched his checked in luggage they found it contained nothing but eleven bags of herbal cannabis.
The total weight of the drugs was around 12 kilos which would have had a likely potential street value of around £110,000.
In interviews with National Crime Agency officers Alden answered "no comment" to all questions put to him, but investigations showed that he had flown out to Spain from Luton just days before.
He had made several other trips over the preceding months from Edinburgh, Prestwick, Birmingham and Bristol.
Alden pleaded guilty to drug importation charges and at Edinburgh High Court on Thursday 17 September he was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison.
John McGowan, head of the NCA's border investigation team at the Scottish Crime Campus in Gartcosh, said: "This was a brazen attempt to smuggle thousands of pounds of illegal drugs into Scotland.
"While Alden's method may not have been very sophisticated, he was a professional courier.
"We continue to work with Border Force and other law enforcement partners to tackle those who attempt to bring illegal substances into the UK, and to disrupt the organised crime groups behind such trafficking."
(MH/CD)
Henry Alden, of St Andrews Road in Portsmouth was stopped by Border Force officers as he stepped off a flight from Barcelona on 19 May, 2015.
He was carrying a small plastic bag containing a change of clothes and a phone charger, but when officers searched his checked in luggage they found it contained nothing but eleven bags of herbal cannabis.
The total weight of the drugs was around 12 kilos which would have had a likely potential street value of around £110,000.
In interviews with National Crime Agency officers Alden answered "no comment" to all questions put to him, but investigations showed that he had flown out to Spain from Luton just days before.
He had made several other trips over the preceding months from Edinburgh, Prestwick, Birmingham and Bristol.
Alden pleaded guilty to drug importation charges and at Edinburgh High Court on Thursday 17 September he was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison.
John McGowan, head of the NCA's border investigation team at the Scottish Crime Campus in Gartcosh, said: "This was a brazen attempt to smuggle thousands of pounds of illegal drugs into Scotland.
"While Alden's method may not have been very sophisticated, he was a professional courier.
"We continue to work with Border Force and other law enforcement partners to tackle those who attempt to bring illegal substances into the UK, and to disrupt the organised crime groups behind such trafficking."
(MH/CD)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A cloudy day with a little light rain or drizzle at times, but some spells of drier weather too. The north coast may become somewhat brighter later this afternoon. Maximum temperature 11 °C.Tonight:Cloudy and patchy light rain will slowly clear away this evening. Then the rest of the night will be dry with broken cloud. Westerly winds freshening in the early hours. Minimum temperature 6 °C.
