A man who had cocaine and cannabis sent through the post while sofa-surfing was jailed for 10 years.[1] The man was 25-year-old Lewis Jack Moulder Kelly.[2] Kelly pleaded guilty to importing cocaine, importing cannabis and possessing cannabis with intent to supply.[1] Deemster Graeme Cook said the other man’s initial arrest for the offences was an aggravating factor.[1] The Deemster said long sentences were warranted because the island was trying to rid itself of drugs.[1]

The package for Lewis Kelly was intercepted at the postal sorting office in Braddan on 14 October.[1] The parcel had been sent from Manchester and was addressed to Louis Oakey at Bircham Avenue in Ramsey.[1] The 25-year-old had also been caught with 58 wraps of cannabis at his partner’s home two days earlier.[1] The drug was found in an ice cream tub in 58 individual wraps at an address in Ramsey.[3] The wraps were found with scales and two grinders at his partner’s home on 12 October after police executed a warrant.[1] A fingerprint on one wrap matched Kelly.[1]

Kelly told police he had a drug debt of between £10,000 and £20,000.[2] He said he believed the parcel would contain only cannabis and not cocaine.[2] Kelly also used the name Oakey when claiming disability living allowance.[1] Kelly handed himself in and admitted making the delivery searches on the other man’s phone, saying he had sold his own phone.[1] Police had arrested the other occupant after finding phone searches about parcel deliveries from the United Kingdom to the island.[1] The cocaine purity of between 82 and 84 percent was described as extremely high.[2]

His defence advocate said he had built up a drug debt of between £15,000 and £20,000 and had thought the package would only contain cannabis.[1] The deemster said Kelly may have been “duped” by those sending the drugs to the island, but that did not earn any sympathy from him.[1] Douglas Courthouse was told the parcel was addressed to an address on Bircham Avenue in Ramsey and was sent from Manchester.[1]