Charged: Janelle Mariate
EDITOR’S NOTE: The woman charged in this incident was reportedly born in Saint Lucia (from Mon Repos), but holds French nationality.
CRAWLEY NEWS – A woman has appeared in court charged with attempting to smuggle £100,000 worth of cocaine through Gatwick Airport in tins of hot chocolate.
Border force officers at Gatwick found approximately 1.2 kilos of the Class A drug inside tins, which were hidden inside a suitcase, earlier this week.
The tins containing the drugs were intercepted on Monday (March 21) within a suitcase in the South Terminal. The luggage had arrived on a flight from St Lucia.
Forensic tests are yet to be carried out to assess the purity, but it is likely the cocaine would have had a potential street value in excess of £100,000 once cut and adulterated.
The case was passed to the National Crime Agency for further investigation and Janelle Nicole Mariate, 21, a French national from Martinique, was charged with importing a Class A drug.
She appeared at Croydon Magistrates Court on Tuesday 22 March and was remanded in custody until April 26.
Sue Young, Director of Border Force South, said: “In making this seizure, Border Force officers at Gatwick have taken dangerous Class A drugs out of circulation.
“Our officers are on the front-line of the fight to stop drugs, weapons, contraband and illegal immigrants entering the UK. Using detection dogs and the very latest technology, they are on constant alert to protect the country.”
Anyone with information about activity they suspect may be linked to smuggling should call our hotline on 0800 59 5000.
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