UK - Mother shopped drug dealer son after opening 15kg parcel of cannabis worth £30,000

[cannabis-sam]

[top]Mother shopped drug dealer son after opening 15kg parcel of cannabis worth £30,000 sent to him from South Africa

A drug dealer has been jailed after his mother tore open a 15kg package of cannabis addressed to him and reported him to police.

Oliver Mitchell was today behind bars after the £30,000 parcel sent to him from South Africa was inadvertently intercepted.

A judge heard how Mitchell's mother, who was not named in court, was so suspicious about the item that she quizzed her 20-year-old son.

Brian Payne, prosecuting at Oxford Crown Court, said: 'There had been a lot of discussion between Mrs Mitchell and her son about the package and that had given her some cause for concern.

'She was so concerned about what the package might contain, because the story she had been given differed in so many ways, that she opened it and handed it on.'

Mr Payne described Mitchell as 'the mail drop'.

He said: 'He has been the individual to whom the package has been delivered and in due course it would have been passed on to other people.'

Mrs Mitchell took the difficult decision to report her son and the following police investigation also saw 23-year-old Lewis Cox arrested on suspicion of supplying cannabis.

The court heard that Mitchell had been promised £500 to take delivery of the package, which had been sent by courier from South Africa.

The prosecutor said drug experts had valued the cannabis at £30,000 but said it could reach up to £45,000 if broken up into street deals.

Mitchell, of Kidlington, Oxon., admitted possessing and being concerned in the supply of cannabis and was jailed for 18 months.

Cox, of Northampton Road, Weston-on-the-Green, admitted supplying cannabis and was jailed for two years.

Claire Fraser, defending Mitchell, said: 'Mr Mitchell shows a genuine remorse for the situation which he finds himself in.

'He says it was stupid and he regrets every minute of it.'

Jailing the pair, Judge Christopher Compston said: 'This was one large parcel which would have flooded the city and more and more people would then have been hooked or rehooked on cannabis.'

He told Mitchell: 'I commend your mother for the courage she showed and so should you.

'If she had not, you may well have got into a worse situation as the years went on.'
..........

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...th-Africa.html
18th May 2009