A woman who imported over two kilograms of cocaine disguised as chocolate bars under the pretence that she was going to make a cake has been jailed for five years.
Diana Bowmen arrived in Jersey on Tuesday 24 June on the Stena Vinga vessel from Portsmouth.
The 26-year-old was stopped and questioned by customs officers. She claimed that she was visiting the island for a two-day break to relax.
Bowmen told the authorities that she did not know anyone in Jersey, and would be staying at The Royal Yacht Hotel.
Officers searched her baggage and discovered 11 large Galaxy chocolate bars.
The woman claimed she would be taking the bars back to the UK to melt down and make a cake with her nieces.
However, it was found that seven of the bars collectively contained 2.1kg of cocaine with a value of £261,000. The Royal Court heard that had the drugs been split and sold in one-gram units on the street, they could have generated between £368,870 and £614,750.
Bowmen also had a small amount of cannabis debris within a clear plastic bag.
She was arrested and provided “no comment” answers when she was interviewed.
Bowmen’s phone was examined, and it was revealed that she had been in communication with a contact identified only as “M”.
The messages between the pair focused on travel arrangements and contained photographs of the chocolate bar wrappers that contained cocaine.
It was also noted that Bowmen had travelled on nearly a monthly basis from September 2024 to destinations all over the world – including Thailand, Istanbul, Jamaica and Kuwait.
Jersey Customs and Immigration Service senior manager Paul Le Monnier said: “This was an ingenious method to disguise a significant amount of cocaine and not one that we have seen before.
“It also clearly shows a level of sophistication of those organising this importation, but, fortunately, the vigilance of our officers prevented these drugs from reaching our streets.”
