Liverpool man caught with £47k at Isle of Man ferry port jailed

Thomas Harrison was jailed for eight months

A man who was caught with more than £47,000 of criminal cash hidden in his car at the Isle of Man ferry port has been jailed for eight months.

Thomas Harrison, 40, from Liverpool was stopped at the Sea Terminal while trying to leave on 24 February.

Douglas Courthouse heard he was transporting the money to pay off a drug debt.

The cash was found by a police sniffer dog in four sealed packages under the front passenger seat.

Harrison, of Java Road, had been stopped during routine checks prior to boarding the ferry and gave differing accounts about his reason for visiting the island.

'Strong smell'

The court heard officers noticed a strong smell of cannabis in his black Renault Twingo and he looked nervous and was physically sick when challenged.

The cash was discovered in a purpose-built "hide" under the passenger seat.

His defence advocate said the former soldier had developed a drug habit and had agreed to make the trip to pay off a debt after his work as a long-distance HGV driver dried up.

He pleaded guilty to attempting to remove criminal property from the island at a previous hearing.

Deemster Cook said it was a "sophisticated offence" due to the way the money had been hidden.

He said significant amounts of drug money leaving the island would "no doubt" mean more drugs would come in, which was something the courts were "trying to stop" with the sentences imposed.