The drugs could have had a street value of up to �37,000

Fansizai Zvirawa, 27, pleaded guilty to being involved in importing nearly half a kilogram of the class B drug amphetamine sulphate, known as speed, into the island in October 2001.

By the time the drug was cut with other substances, it could have fetched up to �37,000 on the street.

The court heard Mr Zvirawa recruited a courier to smuggle the drugs into Guernsey in a holdall.

The courier, a young woman, was sentenced to three years in prison in January last year after she admitted flying into Guernsey with the drugs hidden in a holdall.

Short of cash

Mr Zvirawa was arrested three months later in the UK after his fingerprint was found on a piece of paper giving the courier flight, and hotel details in Guernsey.

He pleaded guilty to the charge earlier this month.

In his defence, Advocate Peter Ferbrache said Mr Zwirawa was not a prime mover in drug trafficking.

He had received �200 for his part in instructing the courier.

Mr Zvirawa, who worked as a concierge in a London hotel, was short of money.