Gran mentioned she received a vacation on Facebook till airport safety discovered texts from her son

Amanda Meadowcroft, 53, and her friend were stopped by border force officers at Manchester Airport after they returned from a holiday to Punta Canta, in the Dominican Republic

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A mother and son have been jailed for smuggling 14kg of cocaine into Manchester Airport. Amanda Meadowcroft, 53, and her friend were intercepted by Border Force at Manchester Airport on 22 April last year upon their return from a holiday in Punta Canta, Dominican Republic.

Officers questioned Meadowcroft’s friend about whether she had packed her two suitcases herself. She confirmed that she had packed the blue suitcase, but the black bag was packed by Meadowcroft’s son, Bradley Couzins, 34, who had also footed the bill for her return ticket, Manchester Crown Court was informed during a sentencing hearing on Thursday (12 March).

Upon inspection of the black bag, nine parcels of cocaine wrapped in brown paper were discovered. An additional five packages were subsequently found, similarly wrapped, in the blue bag, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Meadowcroft was later located at the airport by officers, where she claimed to have been on a week-long holiday to the Dominican Republic, a prize she won through Facebook.

Although no further narcotics were discovered in her luggage, officers seized the defendant’s mobile phone and uncovered text messages between Meadowcroft and Couzins, discussing their drug smuggling strategy. The court heard that Couzins was the brains behind the operation.

In the messages, Couzins discussed with Meadowcroft, of Argyle Street Darwen, Lancashire, where she would go and whether she would be travelling business or standard class. He also organised their tickets, passports, and transport from the airport.

Following his mother and friend’s arrests, Couzins was subsequently detained on August 7, where he was also charged with assaulting an emergency worker after attempting to knock his phone from a National Crime Agency officer’s grasp, causing a “deep cut” to her finger in the process, the court was told.

Prosecutors informed the court that upon examination of all 14 packages, they were discovered to “contain mostly cutting agents”, indicating it wasn’t “pure cocaine” which they believed they were smuggling into the country. Christopher Green, an expert witness, stated that had the drugs been of superior quality, they would have been valued at up to £294,000.

A judge told the pair they had been ‘duped’.

The court was informed that Couzins, of Gillibrand Street Darwen, Lancashire, has 25 prior convictions, whilst Meadowcroft has 49 including one comparable offence where she smuggled approximately 30kg of cannabis and received a 10 month suspended sentence.

Kristian Cavanagh, representing Couzins, stated the defendant acknowledged it was a “stupid decision” and believed he had demonstrated genuine remorse. Whilst in custody, Couzins consulted a trauma therapist with Mr Cavanagh noting that he “engaged in all courses”.

He informed the court that Couzins aspired to lead a “law-abiding” life, and having his own son further fuelled this ambition.

Amber Weir, defending Meadowcroft, spoke of a “degree of intimidation” from Couzins, and in a letter received by Her Honour Judge Manley prior to sentencing, Meadowcroft expressed that she was “scared” of Couzins and that he could be “violent”.

Weir added that Meadowcroft felt “ashamed” and highlighted her past struggles with “drug dependency”, leading her to feel “genuine shame” for contributing to the drug cycle.

At the time, she was serving a suspended sentence for a previous smuggling conviction.

Meadowcroft, who is also a grandmother and has two other children aged 25 and 28, is “motivated to be a productive member of society”, the court heard. Both admitted to fraudulent evasion of a prohibition by importing or exporting a controlled drug from the UK.

In her sentencing remarks, Judge Hilary Mandley stated: “The facts are simple, you flew from the Dominican Republic to Manchester with luggage that contained cocaine. It was of low purity, and it appeared you had been duped. The fact that the cocaine was of low purity is neither here nor there. I will temper [your sentence] to a degree to reflect that purity was low.”

A tearful Meadowcroft apologised as she was handed a seven-year prison sentence, whilst Couzins received a sentence of seven years and six months imprisonment.

Charles Lee, NCA Senior Investigation Officer, stated: “This criminal family went to great lengths to source and smuggle class A drugs into the UK. The duo planned and executed an operation born out of greed, culminating in a violent assault on an NCA officer. Thankfully the officer made a full recovery.

“Alongside key partners such as Border Force and Lancashire Police, the NCA will continue to disrupt supply chains and bring criminals like Meadowcroft and Couzins to justice.”

The woman apprehended with Meadowcroft was initially charged but later released without any further action.