Sentences of between four and six years for drug gang
Five young people were involved in a bid to bring £30,000-worth of Class A drugs from London to Guernsey – which ended when three of them were stopped at the harbour.
The five, aged between 19-21, and all from London, have now started prison or youth detention sentences of between four and six years.
The Royal Court heard that Edmilton de Jesus, 20, Brendan Jones, 21, and Jessie Cheverall, 19, arrived on a ferry in November, and told Border Agency officers that they were in the island for a graduation celebration. But they all said it was a different person’s graduation.
They were searched after a bag search indicated links with drugs.
De Jesus was found to have 478 MDMA tablets in his boxer shorts. Jones had 481 MDMA tablets and 393 LSD tabs on him. Cheverall was not carrying drugs, but all were arrested.
When GBA officers studied CCTV footage around the harbour, they spotted Cristiano Carvalho, 19, who was living in the island at the time, and Courtney Casey, 20, around the terminal waiting for the boat to arrive.
Both had arrived in the island by ferry four days earlier but had not been stopped.
They watched the ferry dock from the roof of the passenger terminal and were going in and out of the terminal. But they left in a hurry when GBA officers with sniffer dogs arrived.
Both were arrested at Guernsey Airport the following day where they were booked on a flight to London. Casey was carrying £3,000 in cash while Carvalho had £820.
In passing sentence, Lt-Bailiff Russell Finch said that while each defendant had been involved in varying roles, he would sentence on the basis of the importation being one enterprise.
The court had sympathy for those whose lives were wrecked by the use of hard drugs and it noted the misery they caused in community by those committing crime in order to get money to feed their addictions.
Sentences
All pleaded guilty to two counts of importation, and the men admitted failing to provide pin codes to their phones.
Jones was jailed for five years for the MDMA importation and four years concurrent for the LSD.
One year consecutive was added in respect of the failure to provide the pin code, which gave a total sentence of six years.
Carvalho and de Jesus received the same sentences of youth detention.
Casey and Cheverall will serve four years’ youth detention for the MDMA importation with three years concurrent for the LSD.
