A Kingswood teenager who attempted to import a kilo of cocaine from Brazil concealed inside car parts has been sentenced to four years and three months in prison.
Gabriel Coelho, 19, from Courtney View, appeared at Bristol Crown Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to importing a Class A drug, namely cocaine. It follows an investigation by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SW ROCU), supported by UK Border Force.
Coelho was arrested in February after the package was intercepted by UK Border Force officers at East Midlands Airport. On inspection, the package contained four black metal car suspension arms which had been tampered with and were found to contain a total of 1kg of cocaine, with a street value of up to £100,000.
The
Temporary DCI Charlotte Tucker, of SW ROCU, said: “This was a brazen attempt to import £100k worth of Class A drugs direct from Brazil to his door – a valuable commodity for the organised crime group, meaning further exploitation and harm in our communities.
“The initial interception by colleagues at Border Force and the response led by SW ROCU officers not only meant the drugs were prevented from reaching our streets, but the offender – Coelho – was swiftly identified and ultimately pleaded guilty.”
