Bradninch woman caught with £566,000 of cocaine
A WOMAN has been jailed for 12 years after being convicted of attempting to smuggle a massive haul of cocaine into the UK.
She was found guilty after a trial of attempting to bring £566,000 of cocaine into the country at a London airport.
-
Diana Seymour
Diana Seymour, 49, of Hornbeam Gardens, Bradninch, near Exeter, was stopped by UK Border Agency officers after arriving at Heathrow on a flight from Brussels.
A spokesman for the UK Border Agency said a red trolley suitcase she was carrying was searched, leading officers to examine two cling film-wrapped books inside a carrier bag.
During the trial the court heard that the items were X-rayed — and subsequently tested positive for cocaine, a class A drug.
The jury heard that four bottles of spirits were also scrutinised and found to contain the Class A drug concealed within the liquid.
In addition, two jackets, which were unusually heavy, had cocaine hidden in their lining. In total, just over 3kg of cocaine was found.
The court heard that the cocaine was of 100 per cent purity.
Seymour, who denied charges of attempting to smuggle cocaine on February 4, was found guilty by the jury and sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court in London.
Residents of Bradninch said they were stunned by the conviction.
Reg Williams, 63, said: "I am really shocked to hear this.
"I did not think this type of thing would happen here."
Mel Richards, 37, said: "I suppose you get this type of thing happening all over the place these days — but no one would expect it in a quiet place like Bradninch."
Tracey, 34, who lives in the same street as Seymour, said: "Bradninch is a quiet place and you don't expect people here to be smuggling drugs."
Mid Devon District Councillor for Bradninch John Berry said: "While unfortunately there is a problem in a lot of these rural towns, sadly Bradninch might not be an exception.
"This incident is extremely unfortunate as drugs ruin the lives of young people and people of all ages."
Peter Avery, assistant director at the UK Border Agency's criminal and financial investigations directorate, said it was determined to prevent drugs being smuggled into the UK.
He said he welcomed the long sentence handed down to Seymour.
He said: "Ms Seymour knowingly tried to bring into the UK a hard drug that is known to destroy people's lives and create other social problems.
"This heavy sentence is a strong warning to anyone willing to take risks with their freedom to make money."
He added: "The UK Border Agency is at the forefront in the fight to prevent illegal drugs, firearms and other contraband from reaching Britain's streets and our officers are on constant alert at all our ports and airports."
Mr Avery urged anyone with information about drug smuggling to contact the agency's hotline on 0800 595000.
46 Comments
View all
by Michael, Exeter
Wednesday, July 07 2010, 4:38PM
“GRIBBLE - are you sure you mean bring back the death penalty for drug smuggling ? The human body generates DMT naturally, and yet its an illegal drug. Therfor everyone is a drug smuggler to some degree, so what you are effectively saying is, execute the entire human race. Interesting point of view, but not really sure its gonna work.”
by GRIBBLE, COWICK ST
Wednesday, July 07 2010, 10:02AM
“I would say Bring back the Stripper;s
at Willy's Club (happy memories)
on a more serious note.
I would bring back the death penalty.
for Murder and Drug Smuggling.”
by Steve, Exwick
Wednesday, July 07 2010, 9:56AM
“LOL - but no Fez - drug dealing has never been a capital crime in the USA - unlike sodomy or "aiding a runaway slave"
I mean countries like Iran.”
by DENNIS, Biffins Bridge
Wednesday, July 07 2010, 9:37AM
“Bring back Steve Mclaren”
by M.L, Swindon,Wilts
Wednesday, July 07 2010, 9:27AM
“"Bring Back The Birch "”
by Fez, Chagford
Wednesday, July 07 2010, 9:15AM
“Steve
do you mean The U.S.A ????
The most democratic country ???”
by steve, exwick
Wednesday, July 07 2010, 9:04AM
“Oh, and all those of you that think that drug dealers ans smugglers should be hung/shot/insert preference here.
You might want to consider moving to one of more nutty fundamentalist countries where those in authority share your beliefs. Of course, they include dealers and users of alcohol as well - but hey, details-schmeetails - drugs are drugs right?”
by steve, Exwick
Wednesday, July 07 2010, 8:57AM
“We need to have a proper grown up debate about drugs.
Unfortunately, a lot of the comments on both sides of the argument on this forum suggest that we are quite a long way from being able to think about this rationally, and make decisions based on evidence rather than shaky moral positions.
Legalisation and regulisation of supply of drugs might:
Take money out of the hands of organised crime, including international and home-grown terrorism.
Reduce street crime drastically.
Produce income for the treasury.
Slash the prison population.
........and that's before any arguments about treating people like grown-ups able to make their own decisions.
On he down-side, some people might choose to live their lives in an unproductive haze, or worse. However, they wouldn't be robbing people to pay for their habit, clogging up the criminal justice system and putting money into the pockets of very, very, bad people. The overall cost to society would be insignificant compared to what we are currently paying.
Meanwhile, people who chose to take drugs could do so legally and with drastically reduced risk, and in many cases continue to live happy and productive lives.
Problem is - there is so much hysteria and hypocracy around drugs that I think we're a long way from being able to make rational arguments.”
by Fez, chagford
Wednesday, July 07 2010, 8:29AM
“They should hang Drug smuggler's and the Dealer's,
That would put a stop to a lot of the problem's.”
by Marc, Topsham
Thursday, July 01 2010, 1:14PM
“Maybe the gun wanst pointing at her head but its quite possible it was pointing at one of her loved ones. You live in a bubble where life is like a fairytale. One day you will realise that life is real and I for one hope you get a really serious wake up call and suffer.”