Drug smuggler fled to UK and changed name to avoid being caught

Thursday 30 November 2023

A 56-year-old man – who fled to the UK and changed his surname by deed poll in an attempt to avoid getting caught – has been sentenced to 10 years and four months in prison for numerous drug offences.

Sean Alexander Heatlie was arrested in November 2022 following the recovery of phone data from a third party involved in another drug investigation.

This data showed that Heatlie was involved in the supply of cocaine, and he was released on police bail whilst the investigation continued.

Heatlie breached his bail and fled to the UK where he changed his surname from Alexander to Heatlie by deed poll.

As part of the ongoing investigation police checked Heatlie’s bank statements and discovered over a two-year period, he had received approximately £195,000 of unexplained funds.

In May 2022, Heatlie returned to Jersey using his new name and was arrested several days later and remanded in custody.

His phone was seized and was found to contain evidence of his involvement in cocaine importations to Jersey whilst he was in the UK. 

Messages sent by Heatlie included one saying that he was "having fun sneaking class A [drug] into Jersey lol”, and another saying he was “just arriving into jersy [sic]" on a "stealth mission lol”.

In September, Heatlie was charged with the additional offences. He initially did not plead guilty to but changed his plea in October 2023 to guilty on all charges. 

Detective Sergeant Jim McGranahan from the Drug Squad said: “Heatlie thought he was getting away with dealing drugs in Jersey, he also thought by changing his name he would evade the authorities, but we caught up with him. 

"The safety of our community is always at the forefront of our minds and we will continue to work hard to keep illegal drugs and those who deal in them off our streets.”