Liverpool woman who smuggled cocaine and heroin to Isle of Man jailed

A woman from Liverpool who smuggled cocaine and heroin hidden inside herself to the Isle of Man has been jailed for four-and-a-half-years.

Nicola Rock, 37, was arrested on 22 June after being found with a small amount of cannabis in a UK-registered car in Port St Mary.

The Class A drugs were recovered when she was taken to hospital.

Douglas Courthouse was told it was "the same old story" of a drug user becoming involved in drug trafficking.

The court heard Rock, of Croxteth in Liverpool, was spotted by police in the passenger seat of the white Ford Fiesta at about 12:40 BST.

When the car stopped on Bay View Road, officers approached the vehicle and she admitted to them she had about five pounds worth of cannabis on her.

But officers became suspicious that she may be concealing more drugs and she was transported to Noble's Hospital.

Cocaine worth £2,010 and heroin with a street value of between £962 and £1,925 were recovered in two sub-divided golf ball-sized packages.

She later admitted two counts of possession of a Class A drug with intent to supply and one count of possession of cannabis.

Her defence advocate said the "inevitable" prison sentence was "going to be a rude awakening" for her.

"She is very accepting of the fact that she's going to be punished and that she deserves to be punished," she added.

Deemster Graeme Cook said the manner in which the drugs had been concealed meant there was an element of "sophistication" to the crime.

The deemster also handed Rock an exclusion order, banning her from returning to the island for five years after her release.

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