Woman who smuggled £4k of cocaine to island jailed

A woman who smuggled £4,000 worth of cocaine to the Isle of Man on the ferry has been jailed for three years and eight months.

Kelsey Peers, from Greater Manchester, was arrested after an off-duty police officer became suspicious of her during the afternoon sailing from Heysham on 12 July.

Douglas Courthouse was told she had been offered £300 to carry the drugs to the island.

Jailing the 24-year-old for three years and eight months, Deemster Graeme Cook said it was a "really sad case" but a "message needs to be sent".

The court heard Peers, of Whitefield in Bury, had boarded the 14:15 GMT sailing between Lancashire and Douglas.

The concerns of the off duty officer, who was also a passenger on the sailing, were reported to the Isle of Man Constabulary and Peers was arrested at the Sea Terminal as she got off shortly before 19:00 GMT.

Peers, of Whitefield in Bury, asked to be taken to Noble's Hospital after being searched by police.

She was charged with importing a Class A drug to the island after the cocaine was recovered three days later.

Her defence advocate said Peers, who pleaded guilty to the charge and had no previous convictions, was a "young woman" who had made "a very terrible decision".

While custody "punishes people", it did not "resolve why people take the chances they do", she added.

Deemster Cook said Peers was "clearly someone who is easily influenced".

However, he said there was a sign at the Heysham ferry terminal that warned of the sentences that could be imposed on those who brought drugs to the island and she had taken the chance "not withstanding that".

Why not follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X? You can also send story ideas to [email protected]