A medication mule who tried to smuggle £5.6m value of cocaine into the United Kingdom from Mexico advised Border Power officers he had simplest introduced sombreros again from his shuttle.
Kristopher Purvis, 35, used to be stuck with 15 programs containing the category A drug at Edinburgh Airport in July 2024.
Purvis, from Durham, had flown into the Scottish town with some other guy following a temporary layover at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
The Crown Place of work and Procurator Fiscal Provider (COPFS) mentioned Purvis and his significant other have been stopped by way of Border Power officials as they made their approach throughout the airport’s nothing-to-declare channel.
The pair each and every had a suitcase, with Purvis additionally wearing a plastic bag containing 4 sombreros.
The Nationwide Crime Company (NCA) mentioned Purvis advised the officers he had returned to the United Kingdom with simplest the memento hats.
On the other hand, a seek of his baggage resulted in the invention of 8 vacuum-sealed plastic programs.
An extra seven have been recovered from Purvis’ travelling significant other’s case.
The 15 programs have been each and every discovered to include round 3 pounds of cocaine, which had a mean purity of 52%.
COPFS mentioned the utmost side road price of the full haul used to be as much as £5,640,000.
When Purvis used to be cautioned, he reportedly responded: “It is all mine, my mate had not anything to do with it. I put it in his case.”
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Purvis ultimate month pleaded in charge to worrying within the provide of sophistication A medication and worrying within the fraudulent evasion of the ban on uploading managed medication.
He returned to the Prime Courtroom in Edinburgh on Wednesday, the place he used to be jailed for 10 years.
A 2nd guy arrested along Purvis pleaded now not in charge to the similar fees. He’s because of stand trial this November.
Donnie Lawrie, from the NCA, mentioned: “Kristopher Purvis tried to look like an harmless vacationer and claimed to just be wearing sombrero souvenirs. The reality used to be, the bags he used to be wearing contained tens of millions of kilos value of substances.
“Purvis used to be used as a mule for the criminals prepared to extend their earnings when promoting medication at the streets of the United Kingdom.
“The NCA continues to paintings intently with UK Border Power, police forces and different regulation enforcement companions all the way through the sector to cut back the provision of sophistication A medication meant for the United Kingdom marketplace.”
