Lancashire drug dealer jailed over Costa Rica cocaine import

Today (Tuesday, March 5), at Preston Crown Court, Scott Brown, 31, of Bancroft Avenue, Thornton Cleveleys, was jailed for seven years and six months for conspiring to import cocaine into the UK. 

He was arrested in August 2023 after a parcel from Costa Rica, destined for his address, was intercepted by Border Force at London Heathrow Airport.

The parcel was declared as a 'rustic table' but following an x-ray examination, more than 11kg of cocaine was found hidden inside. 

The parcel marked as 'rustic table' from Costa Rica (Image: NWROCU)

DS Jamie Illingworth from the NWROCU Taskforce Team said: "This eight-month investigation is an excellent example of multiagency working; today's sentence would not have been possible without the combined efforts of Border Force, Lancashire Constabulary, and the Crown Prosecution Service.

"It was a sophisticated criminal operation and the amount of drugs Brown was attempting to bring into the UK was significant. 

“The evidence extracted from his mobile phone involved hours of painstaking detective work, and was crucial in bringing him to justice. 

“Class A drugs ruin lives and inflict unimaginable damage in our communities. 

"But we've taken almost one million pounds worth of drugs off the streets which is an excellent result.

"Criminals like Brown make their profits from the misery of vulnerable addicts, so I am pleased he has been put behind bars for a significant period of time.”