COKE SMUGGLER GETS SIX YEARS

icthewharf.icnetwork.co.uk Feb 13 2003

A VENEZUELAN man who tried to smuggle £50,000 worth of cocaine in his shoes into London City Airport, was jailed for six years this week.

Francisco Antonio Zambrano Moreno (26) was stopped at the entrance to the Customs Channels at the Docklands airport, after flying in from Caracas, Venezuela, on November 20 last year.

After carrying out a search, customs officers found brown and black tape wrapped packages, under the insoles of his shoes. The shoes were found to contain 694 grams cocaine with an estimated street value of approximately £50,000.

On Monday (February 10) Moreno was sentenced to six years in prison at Middlesex Guild hall Crown Court. Judge Matheson said "It is usual that the couriers are the ones caught smuggling and that real criminals behind the drugs trade are not caught. "

Customs spokesperson, Shona Lowe, said "This sentence should send a very strong message."