Wolverhampton drug smuggler who hid cocaine inside patties is jailed

Dane Hamilton was stopped by Border Force officers on August 2 last year after arriving on a flight from Jamaica.

His hand luggage was searched and found to contain a box of the savoury pasties. There were only 10 in the box – instead of the 12 usually supplied – and when officers examined the food closer, they found that instead of filling, they contained small packets of cocaine.

If cut and sold on the street, the 1.5 kilos of drugs would have been worth around £160,400.

Jurors sitting at Birmingham Crown Court unanimously convicted Hamilton, a Jamaican national, of drugs smuggling yesterday after a two-day trial. He was sentenced to six years.

During the trial Hamilton, aged 33, of All Saints Road, said he went to Montego Bay, Jamaica, last July to visit his mother and he bought the patties and other items on his return trip in the departure lounge.

He claimed all he expected officers to find when they searched him was chicken and beef, as he said he bought them in a sealed box and put them in a holdall.

Hamilton insisted to police that he had 'no idea' of the real filling but was later charged by police.

Dawn Cartwright, from Border Force, admitted the method of hiding the drugs was 'an unusual concealment'.

She added: "Our officers are trained to expect the unexpected.

"The sentence handed to Hamilton should serve as a warning to others thinking of smuggling drugs. You will be caught and you will be sent to jail.

"Drug smuggling is a vile trade and ruins lives."

It is one of several big seizures by customs officers at Birmingham – and the journey from Montego Bay to the city is well known for drug smuggling.

In another case, Wolverhampton woman Sara Grant was caught trying to smuggle £10,000 worth of cannabis by masking them as packets of dried coffee back from the country.

The smell tipped off customs officers at the airport about the true content of the packages.

The 31-year-old of Leslie Road, Park Village, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the illegal importation of cannabis.

And earlier this year a man and woman who attempted to smuggle cannabis with a street value of more than £100,000 into the UK through Birmingham Airport were jailed. Lisa Wise, aged 30, and Bennigar Williams, 51, were convicted of attempted drug smuggling after a trial.

Williams, of Bristol, was jailed for four years, and Wise, of Lower Higley Close, Quinton, Birmingham, for two and a half years.

They were arrested by Border Force officers as they arrived at Birmingham Airport on September 23, 2011 on a flight from Montego Bay.

When questioned, each blamed the other for the drugs.

Border Force officers use search equipment to combat immigration crime and detect banned and restricted goods that smugglers attempt to bring into the country.

Their search techniques include sniffer dogs, carbon dioxide detectors, heartbeat monitors and scanners – as well as visual searches – to find stowaways, illegal drugs, firearms and cigarettes which authorities claim would otherwise harm people, businesses and communities.