"Drugs mule" tried to export £1 million of cannabis

Saturday 18 July 2020

A man with a "long and poor" criminal record has been sentenced to more than six years in prison, after attempting to export cannabis resin to the UK.

Paul Phillips, 45, was given a six year and six month prison sentence in a "unique" case that saw him charged with attempting to export a commercial quantity of cannabis from Guernsey into England.

He tried to export 40.25kg of cannabis resin, which was reportedly being returned to the UK for a refund by a dealer as the resin bars were of a poor quality.

The drugs have a local street value of £800,000 to £1.2m, based on the £20-30 per gram valuations read out in court. 

However, the UK street price is much lower, quoted at between £5-10 per gram. 

Phillips was approached by someone in January this year about exporting the drugs, offering him £2,000 to take them to the UK. After doubling the offer to £4,000, Phillips accepted, but was caught with the drugs in the back of his BMW while attempting to transport them out of the island. 

Pictured: Phillips was arrested in January and has been in custody ever since. 

Defence Advocate Liam Roffey said a traumatic childhood, long-standing depression and finding employment were all issues his client had struggled with.

On 30 July last year, Phillips had lost his job as a heavy goods driver, which had a destabilising impact on his life, finances and mental health.

He was reportedly "haunted" by events in his childhood and took cannabis himself "to help him sleep". 

When offered money to act as a drugs mule by a local dealer, Phillips "stupidly" accepted.

"He was approached in January this year by someone who knew him and knew of his vulnerabilities," said Advocate Roffey. 

"Mr Phillips was the prime example of a drugs mule."

The Royal Court is, unsurprisingly, "rarely troubled" by exportation charges - Advocate Roffey and Crown Prosecutor Calderwood could think of only two they had worked on in 13 years, while Judge Russell Finch said it was a first for him.

The starting point for the offence, given the quantity of drugs involved, was set at 12 years.

After applying mitigation and the defendant's "exceptional" circumstances, Judge Finch and the nine Jurats decided to almost halve that sentence, even after Phillip's criminal history - which includes a seven-year manslaughter sentence - was factored in.

"You have a very high likelihood of re-offending," said Judge Finch. 

"The misuse of cannabis has taken your life and the amount [you tried to export] was immense."

Phillips was sentenced on three counts; the export of cannabis resin; and two charges for personal use of the drug.

In total, he was sentenced to six years and six months in prison. 

Pictured top: Paul Phillips.