Drug smuggler gets five years
Page 9
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• A Carlisle truck driver has been jailed for five years for smuggling £425,000 worth of ecstasy and cocaine into the UK.
Financial problems were said to be the reason why Craig Bainbridge, of Greta Avenue, Carlisle, agreed to import the drugs hidden in a load of mineral water he had picked up in Scotland. Although the water was destined for Norwich, he had a number of days before it was due to be delivered and had crossed the Channel to Holland to pick up two pallets of cigarettes.
But Canterbury Crown Court heard that when he returned Customs officers found the drugs in a holdall stashed in a bulkhead. Sanderson Munro, defending, said Bainbridge's actions had all been down to his financial problems: "He had left the army after serving in Bosnia and went into business, but debts accrued and he needed money."