Eastbourne drug smuggler caught at Gatwick with opium in his underpants

Officers from the National Crime Agency began investigating Adam Ibrahim, 43, of Willowfield Road, after the French authorities seized a parcel addressed to him containing around a kilo of the drug hidden within cotton reels and notified the NCA.

Ibrahim was out of the country at the time but was arrested as he arrived into Gatwick on a flight from Turkey.

Border Force officers searched Ibrahim and found a package containing around 250 grammes of opium concealed within his underpants. NCA investigators found a further 300 gramme package of opium hidden under a carpet at his home in Willowfield Road, plus scales used to weigh drugs.

Ibrahim was charged with possessing class A drugs with intent to supply and importation offences.

He later pleaded guilty, and on Monday (August 3) a judge at Croydon Crown Court jailed him for four-and-a-half-years.

Andy Devine, NCA head of border investigations, said, “Our close co-operation with French partners has led to the seizure of drugs worth around £20,000 and the arrest and conviction of a man heavily involved in the importation and dealing of class A drugs.

“All drugs crime has an international element and by putting Ibrahim behind bars we have managed to break a link in the chain between international smugglers and street-level dealers.”

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