Women jailed for smuggling drugs

Three women from Cardiff have been jailed after they were caught smuggling around £300,000 of cocaine into the UK from Africa, a court has heard.

The drugs were discovered in their suitcases after they were stopped by customs officers at Gatwick Airport.

Rebecca Thomas, 25, was jailed for ten years, Delisha Georges, 20, was given four years and her sister Narzel Georges, 23, five years.

The three pleaded guilty to smuggling the drugs at Croydon Crown Court.

Prosecuting, Alexander Mills said the trio, all of whom live in the Grangetown area of Cardiff, arrived back in the UK on September 7 after ten days in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

They were stopped in the 'nothing to declare' channel by customs officers who thought their cases seemed heavy, and a field test revealed hints of cocaine in all of them.

'Tragic consequences'

A further search brought to light the drugs, weighing six kilos at 100 per cent purity, wrapped in packages and hidden in false compartments, the court was told.

"There was almost exactly the same amount of the drug in each case.," Mr Mills said.

"Pinned to the back of Thomas's passport were the travel ticket stubs for all three women.

"When interviewed, Thomas said she and the sisters had been asked by a man named Rowlands to collect diamonds in Sierra Leone and they would get £3,000.

"They were taken to a hotel where they stayed for ten days. A man called Alpha brought them three new suitcases and their left their own in the hotel."

The court heard Narzel Georges was a child care worker.

The judge, Recorder Richard Merz, told the women: "Your situations are tragic for you and your families, but if the drugs had found their way on to the market, there would also have been tragic consequences for the consumers."