French drugs trip leads to prison

Thursday 21 May 2020

Two Alderney based men are now each facing more than five years behind bars in Guernsey after a day trip to France saw them return with cannabis and cocaine.

Thomas Barras (26) and Matthew Watt (41) appeared before Guernsey's Royal Court yesterday after Alderney's court had to transfer the case because of the seriousness of the charges the pair faced.

They were told they faced a possible maximum sentence of life in prison, after admitting jointly importing cocaine, while one of the pair also imported canabis and the other refused to allow investigating officers to see what was on his phone.

Instead, Judge Graeme McKerrell gave them sentences of just under and just over six years each, after he and the Jurats heard the facts of the case against the pair.

Pictured: The pair had gone from Alderney to Dielette on board Watt's Rib.

Watt had taken Barras to France, on board his Rib, for a day trip on 28 December 2019.

While in Dielette, Watt said the opportunity arose to buy some cocaine which he did, spending £200 on the Class A drug, which Crown Advocate Dunford told the court Watt had said was for his own personal use, and that he would "do it all in one night".

At some time during the trip, Barras bought around £50 worth of cannabis, which Watt said he didn't know about.

When they got back to Alderney, they were stopped at the harbour and Barras immediately told the customs officials that he had cannabis on him.

Both were arrested and a subsequent investigation found Barras had 19.22g of cannabis on him, while Watt had 12.5g of cocaine.

The pair appeared in court in Alderney on 30 December, to be transferred to Guernsey. They both indicated they would plead guilty on their first appearance before Guernsey's courts and neither have disputed the facts of the case which Judge McKerrell said went in their favour.

When they appeared for sentencing yesterday, both men had been on bail since they were first charged.

Pictured: Alderney's court couldn't hear the case because of the seriousness of the charges, so it was referred to Guernsey.

Both Barras and Watt have previous convictions relating to drugs, although Watt's was some 13 years ago, the court heard.

Barras had told the probation services that he is an habitual cannabis user and that is unlikely to change. He originally said Watt had asked him to carry the cannabis that had been bought in France. He later only answered 'no comment' in interviews. He allowed the investigating officers to look at his phone though, which showed he had discussed buying the drug and selling it on to other people. 

The cannabis he bought was worth a maximum street value of £576.60 based on Guernsey's prices.

Watt's Defence Advocate said he didn't know Barras had bought the cannabis and he hadn't been charged with that offence. Both men were jointly charged with the cocaine importation though, as Watt said the intention was to share it, and Barras had admitted he was aware that Watt had bought the Class A substance - with a Guernsey street value of up to £1,927.50p. 

Representing Barras, Advocate Andrew Ayres said he had been doing community work in Alderney while on bail and he wanted to apologise to the court.

Watt's Advocate told the court that he "has a lot to offer the community in Alderney" and that he "has a lot to offer his family".

Watt was said to be most worried about the impact of his crime on his eight-year old son and that he has realised now this is not how he wants to live his life.

Advocate Sam Steel said "he knows he has no one to blame but himself."

Pictured: Les Nicolles Prison. 

Watt faced a separate charge of not allowing officers to access his phone. He said there were intimate images on there of someone who would not want anyone else seeing them. Judge McKerrell said the investigating officers would have handled that situation sensitively so the refusal to allow access to his phone was seen as an aggravating factor against Watt.

In sentencing, Barras was given five years and nine months in prison for his part in importing the cocaine, and 18 months to run concurrently for the importation of cannabis - giving him a total prison sentence of five years and nine months.

Watt was given five years and six months for his part in the importation of the cocaine, and an additional eight months to run consecutively for refusing to allow access to his phone - giving him a total of six years and two months in prison.

Pictured top: Alderney and (inset) Guernsey's court building.