Bilston smuggler jailed for drugs in blow-up doll

A drug smuggler who tried to bring cannabis into the UK inside a blow-up doll has been jailed for 21 months.

Darren Hughes arrived at Birmingham Airport from Amsterdam and was stopped by UK Border Agency officers who searched his bag. They discovered a female blow-up doll, dressed in lingerie, containing 91.2 grams of skunk with a value of £657.

When questioned, 26-year-old Hughes said that he saw the Class B drug in the blow up doll on a train in Amsterdam and decided to bring it back to the UK even though he knew it was illegal to do so.

Hughes, of Bunkers Hill Lane, Bilston, appeared at Solihull Magistrates Court in February and pleaded guilty to the offence, which happened in September.

He was bailed pending sentencing and while on bail, was arrested for burglary. He appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Tuesday where he received 17 months for the burglary and a further four months for the drugs offence.

Dawn Cartwright, from the UK Border Force, said: "This man's attempts to smuggle skunk in a blow-up doll were foiled by our officers who are in the frontline of the fight to stop drugs, weapons, contraband and illegal immigrants entering the UK. "

By Shaun Jepson