Cocaine smuggler who hid drug in wheelchair jailed

Casimiro De Lemos Francisco's decision to pose as being disabled was described as "abhorrent"

An man who tried to smuggle cocaine worth almost £1m into the UK by hiding it in an electric wheelchair has been jailed.

Casimiro De Lemos Francisco was in the wheelchair as he moved through Manchester Airport after his flight arrived from Bridgetown in Barbados on 30 March.

A scan by Border Force officers discovered 11 packages of the drug concealed in the backrest, weighing 12kg (26.4lbs) and with a street value of £880,000.

De Lemos Francisco, 56, a Portugese national, admitted smuggling Class A drugs at Manchester Crown Court and was jailed on Thursday for six years and nine months.

A Border Force scan revealed 11 packages stuffed into the wheelchair's backrest

The court heard how when he was stopped De Lemos Francisco said he was in the country for a few days to see a friend.

The wheelchair was scanned and when officers asked him about what was hidden inside, he replied: "I don't know, you will need to ask my friend."

An National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation also found a tracking device for the crime group behind the import.

"Organised crime groups will try anything possible to smuggle drugs, but using a wheelchair and a man pretending to be disabled is particularly abhorrent," said senior investigator Charles Lee.

Officers found cocaine packages weighing a total 12kg (26.4lbs) and valued at £880,000

"The NCA works with partners at home and abroad to combat the threat of Class A drugs and protect the public."

It comes after a similar NCA investigation found 71-year-old Ronald Lord, from Montreal in Canada, also tried to smuggle cocaine worth £600,000 into the UK by hiding it in a mobility scooter.

He was stopped at Gatwick Airport in February with 8kg (17lbs) of the drug hidden in a void in the seat back panel.

He was jailed for six years earlier this week.