Dad spotted at Manchester Airport after 'monumentally stupid' decision is jailed

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A dad was caught trying to smuggle drugs into the country after borrowing thousands of pounds from a loan shark. Jack Brooks, 32, has been jailed after he was spotted at Manchester Airport.

He said that he’d been ‘pressured’ into the smuggling bid after falling into debt. But as he jailed Brooks for a year, a judge warned that he was ‘sending out a message’ to deter others from trying the same thing.

Manchester Crown Court heard that Brooks arrived back in the UK on October 7, after flying from Bangkok via Frankfurt. About 20 kilos of cannabis was discovered in his suitcase, which was said to have a wholesale value of just over £90,000, prosecutor Justin Hayhoe said. READ MORE: His dad wept outside the courtroom after he admitted what he'd done Brooks had financial reasons for committing the crime, his barrister said.

Ben Kaufman said that Brooks had initially borrowed £10,000 from the loan shark. He said that Brooks had then paid back £7,000, but that ‘punitive’ interest was added and the debt spiralled to £25,000.