Couple found guilty for attempted cocaine trafficking

A couple from Wigan have been sentenced to over eleven years in prison for their part in attempted illegal importation of cocaine valued at almost £80,000 at Manchester Airport last year.

The case comes after lengthy investigations by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) officers into a North West gang suspected to be responsible for drug trafficking into the UK from South America.

The couple, Matthew Wright and Stephanie Thomas, both of Wigan, received six years eight months and four years six months respectively for the drug offences when His Honour Judge Hernandez summed up their roles in court, saying that the couple committed this crime as an act of pure greed and the prospect of getting easy money.

The judge said to Thomas that he turned a blind eye to the fact that Wright was living well beyond his means and there had been clear evidence of what was taking place.

The couple were initially stopped at Manchester Airport by border control officers on August 7th when they arrived on a flight from Venezuela, when the officers found packages of cocaine in the couple’s shared suitcase wrapped in cling film. The couple were then arrested and charged with the case being passed onto HMRC investigators to proceed with their enquiries.

Spokesman for HMRC Criminal Investigations, Mike O’Grady, said that there was no excuse for any person to become involved in this illegal and harmful trade, with Wright and Thomas paying the price for their parts in an international crime network.

Investigators working on the case for over several months traced the travel movements of the couple while investigating their financial transactions between the smugglers and used mobile phone evidence to connect the pair with trafficking.

Wright received an extra two years jail for a separate forgery charge.