Arrest warrant issued after sentencing no-show

Wednesday 20 January 2021

A man facing years behind bars for importing cannabis is believed to have fled the island by posing as his brother.

An arrest warrant for Jamie Malcolm Ferbrache, 27, has been signed and will be sent to the UK authorities.

Ferbrache faces charges in the Royal Court for attempting to import 9.37kg of cannabis into the island - as part of a joint enterprise that saw his co-defendants given lengthy prison sentences yesterday - and for breaking the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2003 during the investigation, by not disclosing his phone's pin code. 

Ferbrache pleaded not guilty, but was found guilty of trying to import the drugs in his suitcase at a trial in November. It is now believed that he absconded shortly afterwards and has not been in Guernsey for around two months. 

The Court was told that Ferbrache's absence was flagged up after he missed meetings with probation services and the lawyer appointed to him via legal aid. He had reportedly got engaged to a woman in Manchester on Christmas Day. 

Lt-Bailiff Russell Finch, who presided the sentencing hearing, expressed his "surprise" that staff at the border had not picked up that Ferbrache was using someone else's ID, especially given the lack of travellers in recent months. 

Lt-Bailiff Finch signed an arrest warrant without bail, with Ferbrache now expected to face additional charges. His co-defendants were sentenced to eight years, six months in prison, and five years, six months, in Guernsey's Royal Court yesterday.