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A 23-year-old man, who came to Jersey on the ferry with drugs worth more than £11,000 smuggled in his pants, has been sent to prison.
George Howard Valentine arrived in Jersey on Sunday 10 September on a Condor ferry from Poole when he was stopped by Customs officers.
He told them that he was homeless and visiting the island because his grandmother had recently passed away and he wanted to pay his respects.
Valentine also claimed he would be travelling onwards to Guernsey in the hope of finding work in construction there.
But he nonetheless aroused officers' suspicions, which proved to be correct.
Pictured: The Royal Court was told Valentine had been cooperative during the investigation.
After a search, a material sunglasses pouch was found stashed inside his underwear, and, inside it, there was a package of what he later admitted to be "ket and coke".
In all, there was 6.63g of Class A drug cocaine and 119.77g of ketamine, which is a Class B drug – together, they had a combined street value of £11,300.
A search of his phone later uncovered photos and messages relating to drug supply.
The Superior Number of the Royal Court – which sits for the most serious criminal cases – heard the case yesterday.
Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae, who was sitting with Jurats Robert Christensen, Elizabeth Dulake, Gareth Hughes, Michael Entwistle and Mike Berry, said his age and cooperation with investigators had been taken into account. The court was told, however, that he had a previous conviction in the UK and was wanted by British Transport Police for a public order offence dating back to 2022.
A sentence of three-and-a-half years' imprisonment was imposed.
Following the sentencing, Paul Le Monnier, Senior Manager at JCIS, paid tribute to the "vigilance" of the officers on his team, which he said "thwarted" an "unsophisticated attempt to import controlled drugs to the island".
Advocate Heidi Heath was defending and Crown Advocate Lauren Hallam was prosecuting.
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