Heroin smuggler gets 11 years

A Briton who was caught at the airport with almost one kilogramme of heroin hidden in his suitcase was jailed for 11 years and fined €20,000.

Scott Bell, 23, pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic, possession and importing the drug, worth around €43,000, in May 2010. It was hidden in a false bottom of his suitcase.

He told police that, three months earlier, he had met a man named Tan in a coffee shop in Rotterdam who asked him if he was willing to carry a bag with drugs in return for money. Mr Bell accepted and the two men exchanged numbers.

On May 2, he received a phone call from Tan who asked if he was still interested in delivering the drugs for €3,000. Mr Bell then met Tan who accompanied him to Brussels airport and gave him an airline ticket to Malta.

Mr Bell agreed to call the man once he arrived at his hotel in St Julians and wait for further instructions. He was also going to keep wearing the same clothes to be recognisable to the person who would collect the drugs.

However, on his arrival at Malta International Airport, Mr Bell was arrested.

He was jailed yesterday after he pleaded guilty instead of facing a trial by jury. Mr Justice Michael Mallia also ordered him to pay €1,000 worth of fees incurred by court experts.