Scottish Mum Jailed For Trying To Smuggle £1m Of Cocaine Through Glasgow Airport

A disabled Scottish mum recruited by a mysterious drug cartel to smuggle £1m of high purity cocaine into Scotland has been jailed for seven years.

Wheel-chair bound Myrtle McCreath was stopped at Glasgow Airport soon after arriving from Brazil in February last year.

UK Border Force officers found her case was stuffed full of cosmetics and toiletries.

But, hidden inside the tubs and bottles was a huge haul of Class A drugs McCreath had picked up in South America.

The 53 year-old - who normally spent her days sewing at her Ayrshire home - was lured into crime after meeting a man called John Edwards on Facebook.

Edwards claimed to have ran a gold-mining business in Africa.

The pair struck up an internet romance before he introduced his friend Philip Okoko to McCreath online.

McCreath eventually agreed to cross the globe to ferry drugs - despite never having met these individuals in person.

The mum told a jury she thought she was travelling the world to pick up a substance to clean £30m of dirty banknotes left to the men by generous relatives.

McCreath - who expected a large chunk of the windfall - dreamed of a life of riches with her "boyfriend".

But, the first offender is now behind bars after earlier being convicted of being concerned in the supply of cocaine.

Lord Bonomy told her it appeared there were "shadowy figures" behind the trafficking.

But, he added the jury rejected her claims that she was clueless she was ferrying drugs.

The judge went on: "I have to make sure that the people behind these crimes do not manipulate naïve individuals like yourself, who provide great cover going through an airport in a wheelchair.

"I have to deter the big boys as well as the smaller individuals, who might be tempted by the money on offer."

McCreath looked ashen faced as she used her crutch to help her back down to the cells.

A jury heard that around two years ago McCreath met John Edwards, who apparently shared her love of playing games on Facebook.

Edwards was said to be from Ghana, but also had business interests in Nigeria including gold-mining.

McCreath and Edwards went on to become online lovers shortly after she split from her husband.

The mum even sold jewellery to help pay for treatment for Edwards' apparently sick child.

McCreath was only ever shown photos of her "boyfriend" and never met in the flesh.

Edwards later introduced McCreath online to a friend called Philip Okoko.

McCreath told the High Court in Glasgow: "He said Philip was looking for someone to go abroad to help clean money that had been in the family for years."

The jury heard claims $50m had left by "ancestors", but that special solution had to be collected to clean the banknotes which had become dyed.

McCreath soon agreed to help the shady Edwards and Okoko.

She told the court she believed the "dirty money" story as she was shown photos of large crates of cash being cleaned.

But, in reality, McCreath had readily agreed to take part in worldwide drug dealing.

She initially travelled in December 2013 to Melbourne, Australia - via Shanghai in China - where she handed over a case to two mystery men called Ben and Matthew.

McCreath said she had saw a large load of different kinds of nuts inside.

On her return home, she was spoken to by officials at Melbourne Airport.

She told them: "I was told that I could get a free trip to Australia if I was willing to bring a solution to clean dirty money, so that I could meet my boyfriend."

It was not revealed in court what was actually inside the case.

McCreath had hoped to met Edwards for the first time Down Under - but he never turned up.

McCreath was then asked to carry out a second trip in February 2014 - this time to Sao Paolo in Brazil.

She initially refused - still annoyed at Edwards' no-show. However, she eventually agreed claiming in court she thought it was "legitimate".

She left for South America on February 19 before returning to Glasgow exactly a week later.

McCreath - who had a liver transplant years earlier - was wheeled off the plane into arrivals.

But, UK Border Officers halted her and decided to search her luggage.

The court heard there was a "large amount of toiletries" inside a case which McCreath said had been picked up in Brazil.

This included several tubs of cosmetic creams and 24 different deodorants. There were also two Scooby Doo talcum powder bottles.

The apparently innocent looking containers were then examined - and stuffed inside was £1m of cocaine. Some of the haul had a purity as high as 89%.

McCreath, of Ayr, was held and initially spent a week on remand in jail before being freed.

The mum gave evidence during her three-day trial and denied knowing there had been drugs in the case.

She maintained she had only travelled abroad to help collect "fluids" to clean the cash.

McCreath added: "John said that if I took the trip, do what his pal Philip wanted, then we could be together quicker...come back here and have a nice house."

She later added Edwards had told her they would get a fifth of the apparent $50m windfall for her making the treks.

Describing how the charges had affected her, McCreath wept: "I feel hurt, damaged. I wish I had not done this.

"I have been so low. I know that if I go in (to jail) everything will be taken away from me."

Under cross-examination, prosecutor David Hay quizzed McCreath about her claims regarding the supposed "dirty money".

Asked was she not "alarmed", she replied: "I was maybe stupid and naïve, but I thought everything was alright."

Mr Hay went on: "Not think it odd given he (Okoko) had contacts that someone from Scotland was being asked to do this work?"

McCreath: "Never really dawned on me. I had been ill, wanted to go on a wee holiday and they were paying for it."

McCreath had never been in bother prior to her arrest. She had previously got a degree in interior design.

McCreath largely spent her time at home in Ayr due to a number of medical conditions.

As well as going through a liver transplant, she is registered disabled. McCreath also suffers from serious back problems as well as kidney disease.

Louise Arrol, defending, today/yesterday said McCreath has had no "family support whatsoever" since being convicted.

Lord Bonomy told McCreath that her ill health meant the jail term could be restricted from a "routine" double-figure sentence for such a crime.

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