A drug dealer who secreted almost 100 cocaine pellets inside her body and bra accidentally showed Border Force officers pictures of the drugs on her phone.
Larissa Lins, 27, a mother of four, was detained at Manchester Airport after flying into the country from Brazil on August 24 this year.
He claimed he had come to the UK to “investigate nice places” after previously flying through France and Portugal, Manchester Crown Court heard.
He denied bringing anything illegal into the country and voluntarily showed officers photographs of his stay in France.
However, while browsing, they came across an image of the “little white balls” and subsequent searches revealed that Lins had ingested, secreted and concealed a kilo of the drug both internally and externally.
Larissa Lins, 27, denied bringing anything illegal into the country and voluntarily showed officers photographs of her stay in France.
Lins, was detained at Manchester Airport after flying from Brazil on August 24 this year.
After pleading guilty to being involved in the fraudulent evasion of an import ban on a class A drug, she was jailed on Thursday and told she will “almost inevitably” be deported back to Brazil after serving 40 percent of her sentence. conviction.
David Toal, prosecuting, said Lins had flown from Sao Paulo to Manchester via France and Portugal, with only a small pink carry-on suitcase, a court heard.
Border Force officers spoke to her through a Portuguese interpreter and she said it was her first time visiting the country. He added that he came to the UK to “walk and investigate nice places”.
Lins said she had packed her suitcase herself and had not brought anything illegal into the UK.
Toal said: “She offered her phone to show the officers images she had taken in France, and as they looked at the officers she saw images of white pellets, believed to be cocaine.
“The defendant was arrested and told officers that cocaine pellets had been inserted into her body since the previous day. She was taken to Wythenshawe Hospital where, in several stages, she expelled all of the internal pellets.”
Officers conducted an additional search of Lins and found more pellets hidden inside the lining of her bra. In total, 99 pellets were seized with a total weight of 1.1 kilos with packaging and 923 grams without packaging.
The wholesale price of that quantity of class A drug was estimated at around £30,000, and the street value was around £72,000, the court heard.
Lins was arrested and interviewed, during which she admitted swallowing 100 pellets before flying to France, and spent the next three days passing them around before returning them to someone else.
The day before flying to Manchester, she admitted swallowing ten more and inserting more pellets internally while her “cousin” placed a few more inside her bra. He said he would have received the equivalent of £1,400 in Brazilian reals. He was said to have no previous convictions in the UK or his native Brazil.
Laura Broome, mitigating, said her client was in a “state of pure desperation”. Broome said: “That desperation was exploited. He tells me he was taught how to swallow, hide and insert the pellets. If any of them had exploded he could have died.”
Lins, of no fixed address, cried throughout the hearing and was jailed for three years at Manchester Crown Court.
Sentencing judge Patrick Field KC said Lins was taking a risk with his safety and freedom, which “underlined his state of mind”.
Judge Field said: “It almost shows how little respect those above her had for her safety.”
Broome said the mother was genuinely sorry and was “desperate” to return home, adding that Lins had been recruited through coercion, intimidation and control, and that she was “naive” and had “no influence” over those above her. of her in the chain.
Broome said: “Once he realized the seriousness of the situation, he tried to stop participating further but was told he had no choice.”
Judge Field said: “This type of crime is considered very serious in these courts. There is no doubt that you were recruited to carry out the task and you were recruited by organized criminals who were more sophisticated than you and totally insensitive to the risks.” that was running.” “I have no doubt that (that amount of money) was a significant sum for you.”
Lins, who had no fixed address, cried throughout the hearing and was jailed for three years.
