Cocaine smuggler sentenced to four and a half years in prison

Tuesday 15 August 2017

A 42-year-old man who attempted to smuggle over 53 grams of cocaine internally in April has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison by the Royal Court.

Gerard Anthony Meadows was arrested on 20 April at the airport by customs officers as he was returning from Liverpool where he had been visiting his family and girlfriend.

After customs officers found traces of cocaine on his phone, wallet and shoes Meadows admitted to having used cocaine and cannabis in Liverpool. He also said he was a recreational user in Jersey. As officers suspected him of carrying an internal concealment of drugs, Meadows was taken to the hospital for an x-ray which revealed four packages. Meadows admitted they contained cocaine and they were later analysed. Experts confirmed they contained a total of 53.96 grams of cocaine, valued between £4,500 and £8,400.

During his first interview, Meadows explained that he owed £10,000 to a number of companies and decided to import drugs into the island to pay back his debts. He said he had recently lost his job, leaving him in a poor financial situation, and was staying with various friends as he was homeless. He explained he had been supplied with the cocaine on credit and that he would have had to pay £2,000 for it once it was sold. 

Crown Advocate Richard Pedley, who was prosecuting, said that Meadows should be considered as a courier but gave him mitigation in light of his guilty plea and full and frank admissions. He also said that, while Meadows was not of good character - he has several previous convictions for possession of cocaine and public disorder - the Crown recognised that without the breakdown of his relationship he wouldn't have attempted to import drugs. He suggested a prison sentence of five years. 

Defending, Advocate James Bell, said that Meadows should be granted a bigger discount in view of his personal mitigation. He described him as a hard working individual who saw "...a catalogue of personal events befall him, which led him to lose his stability not through his own actions." Advocate Bell explained that Meadows had separated from his partner at the end of 2015, he then suffered an injury at work which forced him to take time off, leading to a loss of income and made him fall behind in his loan and rent payments. Due to stress, he was signed off work a second time which ultimately led him to lose his job, after 13 years in the same company. He was then asked to leave his home and was taken to the Petty Debts Court in March 2017. 

Advocate Bell said that Meadows embarrassed himself and regrets letting his family down. He also said he has now turned a corner and intends to be a constructive member of society. "He made good use of his time in custody and has followed various courses.  He also raised money for charity with a run on the track course at the prison gym."

Deputy Bailiff Tim Le Cocq, who was sitting with Jurats Paul Nicolle, Charles Blampied, Geoffrey Grime, Jerry Ramsden, Sally Sparrow and Jane Ronge, said that although Meadows did not have a clean record the court took into account the gap of nine years between the last time he offended and the current case. He said that Meadows had a high level of personal mitigation and that the letter supplied on his behalf spoke very well of him. The Deputy Bailiff also noted the personal circumstances Meadows' advocate had put forward.

He concluded that while the Crown was correct in their suggestions of a five year sentence, the Court felt it was possible to add a small additional discount and sentenced Meadows to four years and a half years in prison.