Alistair Paylor was caught with cocaine worth £8.5m at Newcastle airport (Picture: Alamy)
A British man caught smuggling £8.5million of cocaine has been kjailed for six years.
Alistair Paylor, 48, of High Northgate in Darlington, was apprehended by border security guards at Newcastle Airport after flying to the UK from Cancun in Mexico.
Paylor, a homeless cocaine addict, aroused suspicions after travelling back from Mexico in August with no hand luggage but two large suitcases which he had paid a $250 excess fee to accommodate.
After detecting ‘anomolies’ with the luggage, the suitcases were later found to contain 12 vacuum-sealed packets of cocaine which weighed a total of 25.18kg, the court heard.
Following purity tests, the cocaine was found to be 97% pure, with a wholesale value of up to £875,000 and a street value of up to £8.5m.
As he was being arrested, Paylor’s phone starting ringing repeatedly but he refused to unlock it for investigators, the prosecuation said.
Further investigation showed he had also travelled to Thailand twice in the past year, as well embarking on a nine-day trip to Mexico.
His attorney claimed Paylor had developed a cocaine addiction following the death of his mother in 2016, and had been selling the drug and acting as a courier to clear drug debts of between £10,000-£15,000.
The former fork lift driver lost his job due to his addiction and had been living on the streets of Middlesbrough prior to his arrest.
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.
Related Posts:
- ‘Much-loved’ dad, 48, killed by tree branch while walking his dog sees council fined £500,000 over ‘avoidable’ death News A DAD was killed while walking his dog after a tree fell on him as a council has been fined £500,000 over his “avoidable” death. Chris Hall, 48, was struck by the tree limb when he was out with his cocker spaniel, Benson, in The Carrs woodland in Wilmslow, Chesire,…
- Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Once Spent $500,000 on Mirrors and Supplies for 1 ‘Freak Off’ Party, Insider Reveals Entertainment <p id="par-1_73">Hip-hop mogul and businessman <a href="https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/sean-diddy-combs/?swcfpc=1">Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs</a> once had everything he could ever want. He was rich and famous, had plenty of friends, and had a good relationship with his family. However, everything went downhill for Diddy when his true colors were finally exposed. After <a href="https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/sean-diddy-combs-explosive-side-exposed-cassie-ventura-friend-frightening-details.html/">his ex,…
- Four men arrested after 400kg of cocaine found on fishing boat News The 400kg of cocaine found on a fishing boat (Picture: PA) Four men have been arrested after 400kg of cocaine was found on a fishing boat off the Kent coast. Three of the men, who are64, 45 and 25 years old, were arrested on the boat this morning on suspicion…
- Football legend failed I’m A Celebrity psychiatrist test five times while on cocaine Entertainment Paul Gascoigne has been asked to go into the Jungle several times (Picture: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) Footballing legend Paul Gascoigne has revealed he failed the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! psychiatrist test not once or twice, but five times. Later this month, the likes of Danny Jones,…
- Young jockey gets six-month ban after testing positive for cocaine on day he rode 3-1 winner Sports YOUNG jockey Dylan Whelan was slapped with a six-month suspension on Monday when a disciplinary panel heard he tested positive for cocaine on May 7. Whelan, 24, had ridden 3-1 shot Trincomalee to victory at Fakenham in a handicap chase the day the test was taken. RACINGFOTOS.COMWhelan won The Malton…
(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)