All five pleaded guilty to importation charges for the two different drugs.

The plan

Prosecuting Advocate Liam Roffey told the court that Carvahlo and Casey, who had become acquainted in the UK just weeks before, travelled to the island on 9 November 2023 via Condor.

A booking was created for Jones and De Jesus days later to also travel to the island via Portsmouth on 14 November, with Casey’s email address used. 

Cheverall later purchased a ticket to travel on the same day, and she was added as an additional passenger on the return leg with the two men to the UK on 15 November.   

Their ferry was delayed to the next day due to bad weather, with the trio crossing on 15 November and only scheduled to be in the island for a few hours.   

Arrival in Guernsey

As they were stopped by customs at the passenger terminal, Carvahlo and Casey were captured on CCTV awaiting them outside, hanging around the entrance and watching passengers disembark from the roof.  

Inside, the group explained individually to officers that they had come to meet a friend but now just had hours in the island. 

De Jesus admitted to using cocaine in the preceding days, and a search of his bag found a second mobile phone, condoms, vaseline and balloons. 

The search

Suspecting internal concealment, officers carried out a strip search where a cylindrical package was found in his underwear containing an estimated 478 tablets of MDMA. 

Jones was unable to answer questions about the friend they claimed to be visiting, and a swab of his phone came back positive for controlled drugs.

A strip search had to be conducted by force after he protested and argued they didn’t have the power to carry one out.

Two packages identical to those found on De Jesus were found within his clothing containing an estimated 304 pills.  

He later volunteered a tinfoil package from his pocket which contained 393 tabs of LSD. 

Cheverall said she was good friends with the pair, and an ion scan of her bag showed the presence of a controlled drug, but nothing was found on her person other than Vaseline. 

Their phones were seized and they were taken to the Princess Elizabeth Hospital to undergo CT scans to determine if they had internally concealed additional drugs, but nothing was found. 

The arrest 

Carvahlo and Casey were seen hurriedly leaving the ferry terminal area on CCTV as more customs officers approached the building and the pair later booked a flight to Gatwick for the following day, using Casey’s email address.  

The pair were arrested in the departure lounge on 16 November, with Carvahlo found to possess a phone, three sim cards and £820, while Casey had a phone and £3,000 in bundles.   

The group were placed into adjoining cells, with Advocate Roffey noting and referring to “significant comments” made between all of them. Jones encouraged them all to not surrender pin codes if they believed there was anything compromising on their devices.  

The PIN codes

RIPL notices were served on each of them, with Jones refusing and De Jesus ripping up his copy. Carvahlo was asked for three pin codes, but he said only two of the phones were his. He provided one correct code but provided a series of incorrect codes for the other device.  

Cheverall and Casey surrendered their pin codes. The first found texts with unknown contacts in the UK discussing the trip, with references to “business” and the fact others were waiting in the wings to take her place should she get cold feet. She replied that she was “serious”. 

Casey’s phone also revealed texts with unknown UK contacts noting that the trio had been stopped at the harbour, that “something big happened”, that she was attempting to leave the island, and acknowledging the huge penalties if caught. She was also aware that the seller in Guernsey had their house raided following the arrests.  

Her browsing history also showed searches for the boat’s arrival time, as well as the legal limit for taking cash through the airport without having to make a customs declaration. 

Carvahlo's phone similarly had texts with unknown contacts about the situation, as well as a group chat with the trio about their arrival time.   

Only De Jesus made comments when interviewed by police, saying he wasn’t a “snitch”, he was good friends with Jones and Cheverall, while also being verbally abusive to officers saying they were “smoking crack” when he was informed about the penalties for not providing pin codes to investigators. 

The defences

Defending Jones, Advocate Oliver Fattorini said he was only acting as a courier as a way to get extra money. He said it was clear in the prosecution's case that his client’s movements were being dictated by others, that the importation was unsophisticated and he “grew up in an environment that reporting anything would put you at risk of serious harm”. 

Defending Carvahlo, Advocate Andrew Ayres said he had been trying to generate funds to assist his mother to rent a home in the UK and that it was “not entirely for his own financial gain”. He had adverse childhood experience and had demonstrated some remorse and cooperation, but the facts of the case and severity of punishment expected were accepted.  

Defending De Jesus, Advocate Sam Steel acknowledged he has been caught red handed with a significant quantity of drugs but said the group weren’t “criminal masterminds” and De Jesus had “underestimated the consequences of his actions”. He said his upbringing was an example of the “all too familiar path from a fatherless home to the criminal justice system”, with father figures found in “older gang members”. 

Defending Cheverall, Advocate Chirs Green said she had only accompanied others who were carrying drugs and was therefore “on the periphery of this enterprise”. She complied with the RIPL notice and was naive about the offending, having shown real remorse and offered a real apology. 

Defending Casey, Advocate Sara Mallett also noted that her involvement was limited to allow her email to be used in the booking form for Jones and De Jesus and did not stand to make any money from the importation. It was down to “vulnerability, naivety and immaturity”, with it noted that her dreams of representing Britain in Judo were now tarnished.  

The sentencing

Judge Russell Finch, sentencing, thanked the GBA for “detecting and preventing” the importation, which he said was “serious” and involved the “worst class” of controlled drugs.  

They had unconvincing reasons to come to the island 

“You were all in one or more ways knowingly concerned in these serious set of offences,” Judge Finch said.

“It was one enterprise. There's a temptation to import illegal substances as the street values are higher, but the penalties are too."

A starting point of 10 years was applied, but the youth of the defendants and their lack of previous relevant convictions won them a significant reduction in their sentences. 

Judge Finch said non-cooperation with the RIPL notices would be treated “severely”. 

He sent Jones to prison for five years for the importation and a further one year for the RIPL offence.

Carvahlo and De Jesus were given five years youth detention and a further one year for not disclosing pin codes each. 

Cheverall and Casey were given four years youth detention for their role in the importation.  

Forfeiture and destruction of the drugs was ordered.