Dorset man jailed for nearly five years for importing cocaine

A Dorset man has been jailed for nearly five years for importing kilos of cocaine from Jamaica.

46 year old Robert Theophelus Smith, of Soberton Road, Bournemouth, was sentenced on Friday at Bournemouth Crown Court, came to the attention of law enforcement in March 2024 following the interception of a parcel by UK Border Force at Stansted Airport.

The package, which had been sent from Jamaica, contained eight plastic bottles labelled as juice and syrups and an assortment of food items and was destined for an address in Studland Road in Bournemouth.

When tested, the eight bottles of liquid confirmed the presence of cocaine.

Smith was able to collect the package from the Studland Road address without arousing suspicion as he legitimately worked as a delivery driver for a national company and was driving a liveried van and wearing the company uniform.

Further investigations showed he had arranged the importation and collection of a further two packages between January and March 2024, which would have contained up to 20 kilos of cocaine once extracted from the liquid.

Smith pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and the importation of a class A drug and was sentenced to four years and eight months behind bars.

DS Stuart Cumine of the RDT said: “We took prompt action following the intelligence provided by our Border Force colleagues to identify, apprehend and charge Smith, which would not have been possible without assistance from officers from Dorset Police.

“This is a serious importation of high purity class A drugs which we know cause misery and harm in our communities. Smith is no longer able to facilitate the movement of significant quantities of cocaine and we have been able to disrupt further illegal importations by this novel method.”