"Groomed" young mule pressured into smuggling £900k drugs

Wednesday 12 October 2022

A 20-year-old, who was "groomed" into a "dark underworld" and pressured into smuggling nearly £900,000-worth of cocaine hidden in a Range Rover into Jersey by a man he owed a "six-figure" sum to, has been jailed.

Bristol-born Elijah Eric Silbourne was sentenced to six years in prison by the Royal Court yesterday, after he attempted to bring in almost 1kg of cocaine into Jersey, with a potential street value of between £360,000 and £880,000.

Crown Advocate Carla Carvalho, prosecuting, said that Silbourne was acting as courier for a UK-based criminal enterprise.

The court heard Silbourne travelled to Jersey on the ferry from Poole on 1 June with his partner when he was stopped by Customs officers.

Crown Advocate Carvalho said: "They told the officer that they had booked their travel the previous night and would be staying at the Inn Hotel."

He told the officers that he was an electrician, had never been to Jersey before, nor did he or his partner know anyone in the island. When the pair were told about the island's drug laws, the couple said they had packed the car themselves and that they were not bringing anything for anyone in Jersey.

Customs officers searched the car and inspected the boot, removing its lining. Officers then found an area with a "jack and wheel nut fastening system", which had a green plastic bag concealed underneath. Inside it was a brown taped package measuring 9 inches by 5 inches. Silbourne and his partner were then arrested.

Crown Advocate Carvalho said the cocaine had a purity of 75% and a street value of up to £220,000. However, she added that cocaine of that purity was usually cut three or four times before being sold - if this was done, she said, it could be worth up to £880,000 on the street.

When interviewed following his arrest, the defendant initially gave "no comment" answers. During a further interview, his lawyer read a pre-prepared statement in which he admitted being involved in a plan that he would drive to The Inn hotel, leaving the car unlocked, where the drugs would be collected by someone else. He said his partner had no knowledge.

"He stated that, 10 days prior to travel, he was approached by an unnamed man to take 1kg of cocaine to Jersey. Initially the Defendant refused. He stated that he was under duress by the unnamed man who had groomed him since he was 16 years old and whom he owed a six-figure debt," Advocate Carvalho explained.

"The Defendant stated that the unnamed man put the drugs in a different vehicle. The Defendant drove that vehicle to Poole with his partner. The Defendant's partner did not have any photographic identification and was not allowed to travel. They returned on a second occasion in the Car but the Defendant did not know where within the Car the drugs were concealed."

She added: "In return for importing the drugs, the defendant was told he would receive £3,000 and his overall debt would be reduced by a further £7,000."

Advocate Nicholas Mière, defending, urged the court to impose a lesser sentence and consider Silbourne's young age at the time of offending.

He said that Silbourne had been "groomed since 16 into a dark underworld of drugs in the UK", and that his age led to impulsivity and at higher risk of making mistakes.

Advocate Mière noted that Silbourne had pleaded guilty early on, had no previous convictions and that he was co-operative with the authorities throughout their investigation.

Commissioner William Bailhache, presiding, urged Silbourne to view his sentence "positively" and to "use the time in prison to equip yourself for a useful life in the community".

Jurats Collette Crill, Elizabeth Dulake, David Hughes, Andrew Cornish and Charles Blampied were sitting.