Defence Worker Jailed 5 Years For Heroin Smuggling

HM Revenue & Customs (UK)

Afghanistan defence worker jailed for five years for heroin smuggling

An electrician with an American defence contractor was jailed for five years after he was caught with £46,500 worth of heroin as he checked-in for a military flight from Afghanistan to the UK.

Michael Doig (24) of Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire, was stopped and searched by RAF police as he prepared to board a flight from Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, and was found to have close to one kilogram of heroin in his baggage.

Doig had been stationed in Kandahar for over two years and was returning for a routine break in the UK. Military Police escorted Doig back to RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, and he was arrested by investigators from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), for attempting to import a class 'A' drug.

Peter Avery Assistant Director HMRC said:

"This case is an excellent example of the close working partnership between the UK Borders Agency, Customs' investigators and the Military Police in ensuring that dangerous drugs like heroin are not smuggled into the UK via military flights."

Doig, appearing at Isleworth Crown Court, was also ordered to surrender his passport under a three year travel restriction order. Doig had pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle heroin during a hearing at Uxbridge Magistrates Court in June 2008.

The case was prosecuted by the independent Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office (RCPO).

NOTES

1. RCPO was created by Royal Assent on 7 April 2005. An independent prosecuting authority, RCPO reports directly to the Attorney General, and is responsible for prosecuting some of the largest drug and fraud cases in the UK.

Issued by HM Revenue & Customs Press Office

Website http://www.hmrc.gov.uk

Client ref NAT 36/08
COI ref 164138P

ENDS

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