A Paraguayan drug smuggler who tried to smuggle a kilo of cocaine into the UK has been jailed.
Armando Formigli Palma, 31, was caught during a routine Border Force check at Heathrow Airport on July 31, 2023, after disembarking from a plane from São Paulo, Brazil.
He claimed someone else had packed his things for him, but an incriminating search on Google led to an incriminating search. “What should I bring?” London In your suitcase.” It was found on his cell phone.
The cocaine smuggler said he was visiting London to “sightsee”. However, an X-ray examination of his luggage revealed hidden compartments containing cocaine inside two suitcases.
Formigli Palma was sentenced to five years and seven months at Winchester Crown Court yesterday after admitting drug smuggling.
Formiri-Palma initially claimed that he had been given the package by a criminal organization and that he had not packed the suitcase.
However, before leaving Brazil, the drug mule was in contact with another person who sent him the itinerary for hotel reservations, travel insurance and airline tickets.
Formiri Palma’s web history also revealed that he had been checking the weather forecast for the capital.
Additionally, a photo on his phone showed him wearing shorts with the same pattern as those found in one of the suitcases.
John Turner, director of operations at the National Crime Agency, said: “Formigri Palma fabricated a backstory to avoid consequences for its involvement in drug trafficking and underestimated the determination of its staff to uncover the truth. ” he said.
“Drug traffickers like him play a key role in the organized criminal business model that fuels violence and exploitation across the UK.”