Franklynn Bate, 29, was arrested after accepting a dummy package delivered to her Douglas home on 26 May last year.[1] A woman who agreed to have £27,585 worth of cocaine hidden in a speaker sent to her home has been jailed for three years and 11 months.[1] Bate admitted importing cocaine to the Isle of Man, attempted possession of the drug with intent to supply, as well as possession of cannabis and being concerned in the supply of it.[1] Prosecuting advocate Hazel Carroon said that the total amounts involved were 275.85 grams of cocaine and 1.3 grams of cannabis.[2]
Douglas Courthouse heard the drugs had been intercepted at the postal sorting office the previous day.[1] After the drugs were removed, the parcel was delivered to Bate’s home in Sumark Croft, Douglas at about 10:00 BST where she accepted it.[1] Police then carried out a two-hour surveillance operation before arresting her.[1] A search of a neighbouring property found the parcel in a shopping bag on top of the washing machine, with cannabis and Bate’s mobile phone.[1] Phone messages revealed she had also been dealing cannabis between December 2020 and May 2021, the court heard.[1] The phone also showed she had used the online track and trace system to check on the whereabouts of the parcel 65 times over an 11-hour period.[1]
She later admitted to agreeing to accept the package on behalf of a family member in exchange for payment.[1] In mitigation, her defence advocate said she accepted making a “foolish mistake” but had thought the package was going to contain cannabis and not class A drugs.[1] While jail time was unavoidable, the sentence handed down had been “purposefully” set below four years because Bate was pregnant, he added.[1]
The court heard that a package addressed to Frankie Harris at Bate’s address was identified as suspicious by postal staff.[1] The cocaine in the speaker was valued by the authorities at £27,585.[1]