Michael Brown, 30, of Bircham Avenue Close in Ramsey, agreed to receive more than £19,500 worth of cannabis through the post so a £300 drug debt would be cancelled.[1] He had agreed to accept the package to pass it on to someone else.[1] Brown was arrested after accepting the package on 13 February 2020.[1] Deemster Graeme Cook at Douglas Courthouse handed Brown an 18-month jail term suspended for two years plus a two-year supervision order.[1]

Staff at the Ramsey postal sorting office reported the large brown box as suspicious because it was the third package addressed to Brown that week.[1] The intercepted box held three sealed silver bags of cannabis.[1] The parcel held 1.4 kilogrammes of cannabis worth more than £19,000.[2] Officers replaced the drugs with the same weight in tea bags and the package was delivered to Brown’s home in Bircham Avenue Close.[1] Brown was arrested for importing the drug and attempting to possess it after signing for the parcel.[1] A search of his home found a small quantity of cannabis in a glass jar on the floor along with a grinder.[1]

Prosecutors said there was no evidence on his mobile phone to indicate he had been dealing the drug.[1] At an earlier hearing before magistrates at Douglas Courthouse, Brown had denied attempting to possess cannabis with intent to supply but admitted possessing cannabis.[3] Magistrates said the case was too serious for the summary court and committed it to the Court of General Gaol Delivery.[3]