Heroin mule sentenced to six years in prison

Monday 14 August 2017

A 45-year-old who attempted to smuggle £41,500 worth of heroin packages into the island by carrying them internally last December has been sentenced to six years in prison by the Royal Court.

Jose Manuel Ferraz Figueira has also been recommended for deportation.

He was stopped by a Customs Officer on 9 December 2016 as he was getting off the Condor Rapide from St Malo as a foot passenger. He was only carrying a small amount of money and said he was going to be staying in the island for a few days with a friend. The officers arrested Figueira on suspicion of being knowingly concerned in the importation of controlled drugs and took him to the hospital for an x-ray, which showed suspicious results. The man admitted he had concealed three packages of heroin internally but later produced five, all wrapped in plastic.

The packages were examined and revealed 111 small packages of solid brown powder of a total amount of 41.51 grams of heroin containing an average of 9% by weight of diamorphine. The heroin was valued at £41,500. 

Figueira first said that the heroin was for his personal use, which Crown Advocate Richard Pedley, who was prosecuting, described as an "entirely implausible version of events, especially in light of expert reports." A Customs Officer stated that the quantity of heroin was "...far in excess of what an individual may be expected to consume in that period of time even with a very heavy dependency." A doctor also said that the account was unrealistic as no report was made of any withdrawal symptoms while Figueira should have "...exhibited serious severe withdrawal symptoms at that time, if he was a heavy user of heroin." 

He then changed his version of events and said he was planning on using a quarter of the drugs and to sell the rest to friends in Jersey. However, Crown Advocate Pedley said that the Crown did not accept that argument, but chose not to challenge it as it wouldn't have any bearing on the sentencing. He said: "Figueira tried to minimise his involvement and only adjusted his account when the Crown did not accept he would smoke over 13 grams a day."

Crown Advocate Pedley urged the court to treat Figueira as a courier and suggested a starting point of nine years which, when other factors were taken into account. He asked for a six year prison sentence, the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs and recommended deportation.

Advocate James Bell, who was defending, told the Court that Figueira needed to be sentenced, but to less than six years. He suggested five years arguing that different views could be taken over this case. He explained that his client was intending to keep 25% of the drugs for personal use, with the remainder being sold to "...like-minded friends for a small price given the poor quality."

He continued saying that Figueira was not "an ordinary courier acting at the behest of someone else" but was instead at the lowest end of the supply chain. "He is in fact at the rock bottom of the chain.  He is not a commercial, sophisticated trader in drugs." He also said that his client had expressed genuine remorse, "not just for the consequences for himself, he can see the bigger picture as well." After saying that Figuiera was now free of drugs, Advocate Bell urged the court for some leniency.

Deputy Bailiff Tim Le Cocq, who was sitting with Jurats Paul Nicolle, Charles Blampied, Geoffrey Grime, Jeremy Ramsden, Sally Sparrow and Jane Ronge, said the Crown's conclusions were correct and sentenced Figueira to six years in prison. He stated that he hadn't been fully cooperative and gave different versions of events to minimise his implication. He added that Figuiera's continuing presence would be a detriment to the island and recommended the deportation of the Madeiran.