Bootle man caught with £80k of cannabis hidden in car jailed

Ian Broadbent was sentenced at Douglas Courthouse on Friday

A man who travelled to the Isle of Man by ferry with £80,000 of cannabis hidden in secret compartments in a car has been jailed.

Ian Broadbent was arrested at a Douglas hotel on 23 April and police found the drugs in a subsequent search.

Douglas Courthouse heard he had agreed to transport the drugs to clear a debt.

The 55-year-old, of Bootle, Merseyside, was sentenced to two years four months in prison and given a five-year island exclusion order.

The court heard Broadbent, of Sefton Road, had arrived on the island in a black Audi and travelled to the Hydro Hotel on Douglas Promenade.

'Sophisticated offending'

He was arrested at the hotel at about 12:00 BST and a police dog search of the vehicle was carried out, revealing several sealed packages of the drug worth about £40,000 hidden in the centre console.

The court was told a second search of the car the following day uncovered the rest of the drugs in voids under the seats.

His defence advocate said while he had agreed to transport the drugs to clear a debt, he had not packed them into the car himself.

The court heard Houghton had refused to name the person he was carrying out the trip for.

He pleaded guilty to importing cannabis to the island and possessing the drug with intent to supply.

Jailing him, Deemster Graeme Cook said it was a "sophisticated type of offending".

The deemster added the case was a "classic example of how good police dogs are" and said he hoped it would send a message to those who supply drugs.