A 39-year-old man who hid more than half-a-million pounds worth of cannabis in the bumpers of his hire car has been jailed for four years and eight months.
Andrew Stephen Chard was stopped by customs officers as he arrived in the Island on the ferry from Portsmouth, driving a UK-registered hire car.
He told customs officers he was a chef in Jersey for a trial work shift at the Pomme d’Or Hotel – but he could only remember that its name translated to “Golden Apple”. The hotel confirmed this was a lie.
Officers searched Chard’s hire car and found 24kg of cannabis resin hidden in his front and rear bumper and engine bay.
Messages with four contacts, including someone saved as “Sir Booth”, were found on Chard’s mobile phone.
Crown Advocate Jason Gollop, prosecuting, said the messages could be linked to Edwin Booth, who was stopped in the summer with £11,000 of cash.
There was no confirmation, the court heard, of whether “Sir Booth” and Mr Booth were the same person.
Crown Advocate Gollop said that Chard had “amassed over £16,000 in debt relating to cocaine and gambling”.
He added: “Despite being employed as a chef in a public house, the defendant was homeless and sofa-surfing for a period of four months prior to his remand in custody.
“The defendant’s precarious financial situation was caused by his addictions to both
cocaine and gambling.
“This growing debt left the defendant in a vulnerable position and ultimately resulted in the commission of this offence, in an attempt to clear the monies owed.”
Advocate Darry Robinson, defending, asked the court to take mercy on Chard, claiming that he was in “poor health”.
“He is a vulnerable adult,” he said.
“He is very vulnerable – exactly the sort of people who drug dealers rely on, prey upon.”
Letters of reference said that Chard had “made a serious mistake”, describing the offending as “an error of judgment”.
A friend said Chard was “very hardworking”.
Advocate Robinson added that Chard could be rehabilitated, “but he needs to be given the tools and structure”.
Handing down his sentence, Deputy Bailiff Mark Temple said that Chard was a “trusted courier” who booked and collected his own hire car.
“Further, the value of the drugs indicates you were trusted with a significant and valuable quantity of drugs,” he added.
Chard was jailed for four years and eight months.
Jersey Customs and Immigration Service senior manager Luke Goddard said: “This is a significant quantity of cannabis and the criminals involved would have made a substantial financial profit.
“This is a great example of the diligence of the Jersey Customs and Immigration Service officers concerned in both finding the drugs and investigating the offence, resulting in the successful conviction of the criminal importing the cannabis.”
The Deputy Bailiff was presiding. Jurats Dulake, Entwistle and Berry were sitting.
