Part-time fisherman caught with almost four kilos of cannabis

In the Royal Court, Nathan Pipet, 35, admitted carrying £76,000 to £114,000-worth of the class B drug in a rucksack as he disembarked a commercial fishing boat on 28 May this year.

Guernsey Border Agency officers were waiting for him at the Fish Quay, St Peter Port.

Prosecuting advocate Rory Calderwood said it was 8.15pm when fishing vessel the Innovator moored.

After Pipet disembarked, officers asked him if he had anything to declare such as duty-free items and he said no. But when asked if he had any controlled drugs, he replied: ‘Yes, cannabis, it’s in my bag.’

He told the officers that no one else knew about it.

Officers then boarded the Innovator and took witness statements from other crew members, who had not known what was in Pipet’s bag.

‘They said the vessel left Guernsey on Sunday 27 May,’ said Advocate Calderwood.

‘After fishing east of Sark, it then went to Brixham.’

The boat left at 11am the next day but none of the other crew members could say where Pipet had gone in Brixham.

Advocate Calderwood added that Pipet’s house was searched and £2,950 in cash was found.

In police interviews, Pipet gave no comment to questions about the drugs but when asked about the money, he said it was the remainder of £8,000 he took out for a ‘bender’ in England that he went on earlier in the year.

‘He denied that any of the cash was from drug trafficking,’ added Advocate Calderwood.

Advocate Liam Roffey, representing Pipet, said his client had cooperated with customs officers and had entered a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity. He asked that he be given credit for that.

‘He is abundantly aware of the seriousness of the offence,’ said Advocate Roffey.

‘He accepts full responsibility.’

He added that his client had no previous convictions for drug-related offences.

Pipet had a life-long reliance on cannabis and he was spending £600 a month on the habit, Advocate Roffey said.

It was a habit he could not afford after being laid off by his employer and returning to work as a part-time fisherman.

His client’s utmost concern was for his family and the negative impact his sentence would have on them.

Judge Russell Finch said Pipet took a chance and he was caught. It was a substantial amount, he added.

‘This is another case where the misuse of controlled substances has had a big impact on someone’s life and it has cost you a great deal of money too,’ he said.