Guernsey court jails UK couple for cannabis importation

  • Published

A couple from the UK who attempted to import cannabis into Guernsey have been jailed by a judge at the Royal Court.

Beverley Jayne Hartwell-Beninson, 33, from Poole and Michael Tomlinson, 23, from Bournemouth each admitted two importation charges.

They were both jailed for two years for importing cannabis resin and six months for importing herbal cannabis.

Between them they carried 176.83g (6oz) of cannabis resin and 15.43g (0.5oz) of herbal cannabis internally.

The Guernsey Border Agency said the class B drugs had a potential resale value of between £3,765 and £4,725.

The pair were travelling with the two children of Hartwell-Beninson, one of whom suffers with cerebral palsy and was in a wheelchair, when they arrived in the island on 31 August.

They were detained after attracting the attention of a drug detector dog.

Eight packages containing the drugs were recovered with the help of a doctor.

As he passed sentence, Judge Russell Finch said he and the court found the circumstance "disturbing and callous" with the actions being taken purely for financial gain.

He told them the two sentences they received would run concurrently.

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