Posted on 11/10/2002 12:14:33 AM PST by TexKat
A 59-year-old Jamaican man who smuggled £65,000 worth of cocaine in his artificial leg has been given a 10-year jail sentence.
Yenline Neil was caught by customs officers after they pounced on him with sniffer dogs at Gatwick Airport earlier this year.
Neil, of Spanish Town, Jamaica, was jailed after being found guilty of attempted drug smuggling following a three-day trial at Croydon Crown Court.
The court heard how a sniffer dog had taken an interest in Neil after he arrived on a British Airways flight from the Caribbean.
As ground staff helped him through arrivals on an electric buggy, the dog began barking and officers decided to x-ray the false limb.
Customs removed the leg, which ran from his thigh down, and found 824 grammes of cocaine hidden below the knee joint.
The limb was confiscated as evidence by customs and Neil was arrested. He was later issued with a replacement leg during the run-up to his trial.
Neil, who denied the charge, told the court he had no idea he was carrying the class A drug.
He said although he had taken the artificial limb for repairs shortly before his trip, he had not noticed any extra weight after it was returned. However, the jury took just 15 minutes to reach a unanimous verdict.
Sentencing Neil, His Honour Judge Stowe called cocaine a "vile" drug and said the evidence against him had been overwhelming.
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