Importation cases are built on border seizures, surveillance and communications data, and they carry some of the longest sentences in drugs law.
Importation is usually charged as being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of the prohibition on importing a controlled drug. Where several people are involved the charge is often conspiracy, which can be proved even if the drugs never arrived.
Many cases turn on knowledge. A courier may say they did not know what was in the bag, and a jury has to decide what can fairly be inferred from the circumstances. Other cases turn on identification, on the reading of cell-site and telephone data, or on the role each defendant is said to have played.
Sentencing guidelines look at the quantity of the drug and the role of the offender. Class A importation commonly attracts a long custodial sentence, so the role argued at the outset matters.
Selected results
- R v S (Birmingham Crown Court)Importation of Class A through UK airports, and firearms.
- R v R (Leeds Crown Court)Importation of millions of pounds of Class A drugs (the ‘James Bond jet ski’ plot).
- R v S and Others (Woolwich Crown Court)Colombian cocaine importation. Supergrass case.
- R v M and Others (Ipswich Crown Court)Major importation of Class A drugs.
Taken from matters the firm has published. Every case turns on its own facts and past results are not a guarantee of any particular outcome.
Questions people ask
Is it a defence that I did not know what was in the luggage?
Knowledge is for the prosecution to prove, but a jury can infer it from the circumstances. These cases often turn on exactly that.
Who investigates importation?
The National Crime Agency, Border Force and regional police units, often working together.
Can I be charged if nothing was actually brought into the country?
Yes. A conspiracy or an attempt can be charged even where the drugs were seized or never arrived.
How long are sentences?
They depend mainly on quantity and role. Courts start from sentencing guidelines, which is why the alleged role is argued early.