Coupled jailed for attempting to smuggle cocaine through Manchester Airport

A husband and wife have been sentenced to prison after attempting to smuggle cocaine into Britain via Manchester Airport.

Both individuals were believed to have concealed drugs internally and the man resisted arrest, attempting to assault an immigration official before trying to escape the airport while being detained.

Carmen Rodrigues-Angeles, 34, and her husband Mark Thornton, 48, were initially stopped by authorities after they were found to be carrying around 4000 cigarettes. The pair had been on a flight to Manchester from the Dominican Republic. Routine checks by customs officials revealed the massive tobacco haul inside Thornton’s luggage.

When the discovery was made Thornton ran from the customs desk closely followed by a throng of chasing airport officials. When he was caught Thornton assaulted one of the officers by punching him in the stomach.

The pair was then arrested by customs who then proceeded to run a series of tests on their belongings for illegal substances. In both cases the couples’ passports showed traces of cocaine leading to interviews with customs investigators and officers from HM Revenue. The questioning led to x-rays being performed where authorities discovered three packages of cocaine, two hidden inside of Angeles and one inside Thornton.

The total haul was estimated to be at around 300 grams at a street sale value of approximately £12,000. Officials called the act both illegal and foolish and sentenced the pair to prison; Angeles for 2 years and Thornton for 4 years, with another 3 months thrown in for his assaulting an officer.