Djibril Djalo and Madiu Grimes were arrested at Manchester Airport
Two drug mules were caught with £675k-worth of cocaine at Manchester Airport. Djibril Djalo, 34, and Madiu Gomes, 25, were stopped by Border Force officers on December 16 last year.
Concealed in cling-filmed wrapped packages in their suitcases was 25kg of the Class A drug. Djalo, from Portugal, said he had agreed to bring the drugs to the UK for a fee. His lawyer said he was ‘experiencing immense poverty’.
Djalo, Manchester Crown Court heard, was taken to Gambia where he was handed the drugs and flight information. Gomes claimed he was also broke when he was ‘made an offer’ by a criminal group.
They were both jailed for four years after pleading guilty to being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a Class A drug.
Kate Gaskell, prosecuting, earlier said Gomes was stopped at Terminal 2 before blocks of cocaine were found in his luggage. Djalo was stopped separately and clingfilm-wrapped drugs were found.
“When asked what they were, he [Djalo] denied they were his and said somebody gave them to him,” Ms Gaskell said. “He said he was in transit from Guinea to Lisbon.”
In total, 25kg of cocaine was seized, with an estimated value of £675,000. Tobias Collins, representing Gomes said his client was struggling with family medical bills, with his father suffering a stroke and his partner having a caesarean section.
“At the same time he was responsible for looking after their four children and had recently lost his job due to a deterioration in his own health,” he added. “These are the reasons he agreed to that offer – a decision he regrets.
“Not because of how wrong it was and the impact it had on his family, but both his wife and father are back in hospital and his children are being looked after by his neighbour. This will be an inevitable custodial sentence and one of his own making.”
Olivia Gatfield, representing Djalo, said he found himself in a ‘desperate situation’, adding: “He was approached by criminals who asked him to undertake the journey. He was experiencing immense poverty and had been since he was a child.”
She said his wife had to stop working after giving birth to their daughter, which had further ‘exacerbated’ their financial problems. Ms Gatfield added: “He made a huge mistake and offered his sincere apologies to the court.”
Jailing the pair, Recorder of Manchester Judge Nicholas Dean KC said: “These organisations know full well that a high proportion of people carrying cocaine get caught. You too have some idea of the risks.
“It’s said each of you acted out of desperation for a relatively small financial gain. The impact of your offending is very much felt by your families.”
Djalo and Gomes, both of no fixed address, will be considered for deportation by the Home Office when they are let out of prison on licence.
