Mother and son jailed for drug smuggling plot

A mother and son who plotted to smuggle 14 kilos of cocaine into the UK have been jailed.

Amanda Meadowcroft, 53, of Darwen, Lancashire, was stopped by Border Force officers at Manchester Airport in April after returning to the UK from the Dominican Republic.

Text messages on her phone revealed her son, Bradley Couzins, 34, had masterminded the plot, the National Crime Agency said.

The pair both pleaded guilty and Meadowcroft was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court to seven years while Couzins, also of Darwen, was handed a seven-and-a-half-year sentence.

Meadocroft was already serving a suspended sentence for smuggling cannabis into the UK from Thailand.

The NCA said she was arrested alongside another woman who was caught with 14 packages of cocaine, worth approximately £294,000, in her luggage.

Two mobile phones seized from Meadowcroft revealed how she conspired with her son to bring the drugs into the UK.

Text messages showed how Couzins gave his mother the choice of a trip to the Dominican Republic in economy or Thailand in first class.

He went on to confirm the flight and travel logistics, including arrangements to meet "people" at their apartment and pick up the Class A drugs.

Following Meadowcroft's arrest, Couzins attempted to evade justice by immediately moving location, the NCA said.

However, officers arrested him in Blackpool in August.

Whilst being arrested, Couzins attempted to destroy his phone by smashing it with his handcuffs, injuring an officer in the process, the NCA said.

Meadowcroft and Couzins admitted importing cocaine with Couzins also pleading guilty to assaulting an NCA officer.

Charles Lee, NCA senior investigation officer, said: "This criminal family went to great lengths to source and smuggle Class A drugs into the UK.

"The duo planned and executed an operation born out of greed, culminating in a violent assault on an NCA officer.

"Thankfully the officer made a full recovery."

The woman arrested alongside Meadowcroft was initially charged but subsequently released with no further action, the NCA added.

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