Women jailed for importing heroin to Isle of Man through airport

Lorraine Johnson and Gemma Creer were sentenced at Douglas Courthouse

Two women who imported heroin to the Isle of Man though the airport have been jailed.

Lorraine Johnson, 43, and Gemma Creer, 40, were arrested by police after arriving on the island in November.

Douglas Courthouse heard the pair were taken to Noble's Hospital where heroin with a street value of between £9,862 and £19,725 was retrieved.

Johnson was jailed for six years and four months, while Creer was sentenced to six years in prison.

The court heard Johnson, of Derby Square in Douglas, was stopped at the Sea terminal on 22 November and officers undertaking border checks found a knife in her rucksack, which she claimed was for her own protection.

The following day she was arrested alongside Creer, of Marathon Road in Douglas, at the airport after officers became suspicious of the pair when they returned to the island on a flight from the UK.

'Compromised by addiction'

A search of Johnson's home also found a small amount of cannabis and the knife she had been carrying at the Sea Terminal.

The court heard Creer told police she had done it to make "quick money" as she was struggling with "serious financial problems" as well as a long-standing drug addiction.

Both women pleaded guilty to charges of possession of heroin and importing the drug to the island, while Johnson admitted additional charges of possession of an offensive weapon and possession of cannabis.

Johnson's defence advocate said she had struggled with heroin addiction since the age of 16 and had shown "genuine remorse".

The court heard both women had been "compromised by addiction".

Handing down the sentences, Deemster Graeme Cook said drug suppliers "chose to attack" their vulnerability.

Heroin brought "absolute misery" to those who took it as well as their family and friends, he added.

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