Overview

• Casimiro De Lemos Francisco, 56, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court after pleading guilty to smuggling Class A drugs.
• Border Force found 12 kg of cocaine valued at about £880,000 hidden in the seat and backrest of his electric wheelchair after he arrived from Bridgetown, Barbados, on 30 March.
• A tracking device was discovered in the wheelchair’s battery compartment, which the National Crime Agency said was intended to monitor the consignment.
• Prosecutors said he is able-bodied and posed as a disabled passenger in an effort to avoid scrutiny during screening.
• This sentencing follows a separate case in which 71-year-old Ronald Lord from Montreal received six years for bringing 8 kg of cocaine into Gatwick in a mobility scooter.