A drug mule stopped at Manchester Airport told border force officers: 'I'm in a lot of trouble.' George Stables arrived at the airport on February 1 this year, having flown in from Bangkok, Thailand, via Doha. He was escorted by officials to collect his two suitcases and asked if he had anything to declare.
The 34-year-old replied: 'No, I'm in a lot of trouble, somebody asked me to bring these cases.' Stables said he didn't pack them and didn't know what was inside.
'The two suitcases were searched and were found to contain 29 vacuum sealed packages,' Emily Freeman, prosecuting, told Manchester Crown Court. 'Analysis of the packages revealed them to be cannabis. The total weight was 33.95kg, and an estimated wholesale value of £92,000 and street value of £290,000.'
Stables said he became involved because he had drug debts. 'He was very candid about this,' his barrister, Thomas Sherrington, said. 'The drug debt was established whilst he was in this country and the reasoning behind being engaged with the offence was not because of pressures, but because he was aware this was a way he could potentially make some money to advance this debt.'
'There is an element of insight and honesty. He admits an issue with cocaine and cannabis, which was used as a coping mechanism after the death of his father.' Mr Sherrington said the father-of-two, who previously worked as a truck driver, claimed this was the 'end of the line' for him. 'He expressed distress at the impact of these offences on his children who are an important source of motivation for him,' he added.
Jailing Stables, of Baulk Lane in Harworth, Doncaster, for two years and three months, judge Hilary Manley told him: 'Earlier this year you took what you knew was a risk. The courts, particularly in this city, are seeing many cases involving this activity. Sometimes on a single flight there are two or three separate people bringing in large quantities of cannabis. Courts have to impose deterrent sentences. This offence is so serious only a sentence of immediate custody can be imposed. Deterrence is an element I must have regards to.'
