Mum wrapped herself in £80,000 worth of cocaine
Published Date:
13 January 2009
By Louise Brain
A MUM was caught trying to smuggle cocaine with a street value of more than £80,000 through an airport terminal as she returned from an exotic holiday destination with her two children, a court heard.
Catherine Walden, of 4 Delgate Lane, Burnham Deepdale, strapped packages of the Class A drug to her body underneath her underwear when she returned from Barbados.
The 34-year-old was sentenced to five years in prison at Croydon Crown Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to smuggling nearly two kilos of cocaine into the UK.
After the case Maddy Ratnett, of HM Revenue and Customs, said: “We are determined to prevent the importation of illegal drugs into the UK.
“These substances damage lives, endanger communities and are often linked to organised crime.
“The profits of the trade are often used to fund other criminal activity.”
Unemployed Walden was intercepted at Gatwick Airport’s South Terminal on August 19, last year.
She was scanned and four vacuum-wrapped packages, which were later found to contain the class A drug cocaine, were removed from her body.
Customs officers estimated the cocaine to have a street value of £83,700.
The full article contains 203 words and appears in Lynn News Tuesday newspaper.
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Last Updated:
12 January 2009 3:01 PM
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Source:
Lynn News Tuesday
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Location:
King's Lynn
