Able bodied man tried to smuggle coke in electric wheelchair
A Portuguese airline passenger who tried to smuggle nearly £1 million worth of cocaine into the UK in an
A Portuguese airline passenger who tried to smuggle nearly £1 million worth of cocaine into the UK in an electric wheelchair has been jailed for nearly seven years.
Casimiro De Lemos Francisco, 56, rode the mobility scooter through Manchester Airport on 30 March after arriving from Bridgetown, Barbados.
He was stopped by Border Force officers and the wheelchair was scanned.
De Lemos Francisco told the officers he was in the UK for two days to see a friend.
Officers asked him what was hidden inside the wheelchair, to which he replied: ‘I don’t know, you will need to ask my friend.’
Concealed in the backrest and seat were 11 packages of cocaine weighing 12kg, worth £880,000.
There was also a tracking device placed by the drug smuggling gang hidden in the battery compartment to ensure it arrived safely.
De Lemos Francisco, from Guimaraes in the north of Portugal, was able-bodied and did not need to use a wheelchair.
He admitted smuggling class A drugs at Manchester Crown Court last week and was jailed for six years and nine months today (thurs).
Earlier this week 71-year-old Ronald Lord was jailed for six years after he tried to smuggle £600,000 of cocaine into England in his mobility scooter.
Lord, from Montreal, Canada, was stopped by Border Force officers at Gatwick Airport on 7 February 2025.
NCA senior investigating officer Charles Lee, said: ‘Organised crime groups will try anything possible to smuggle drugs, but using a wheelchair and a man pretending to be disabled is particularly abhorrent.
‘The NCA works with partners at home and abroad to combat the threat of Class A drugs and protect the UK public.’
has been jailed for nearly seven years.
Casimiro De Lemos Francisco, 56, rode the mobility scooter through Manchester Airport on 30 March after arriving from Bridgetown, Barbados.
He was stopped by Border Force officers and the wheelchair was scanned.
De Lemos Francisco told the officers he was in the UK for two days to see a friend.
Officers asked him what was hidden inside the wheelchair, to which he replied: ‘I don’t know, you will need to ask my friend.’
Concealed in the backrest and seat were 11 packages of cocaine weighing 12kg, worth £880,000.
There was also a tracking device placed by the drug smuggling gang hidden in the battery compartment to ensure it arrived safely.
De Lemos Francisco, from Guimaraes in the north of Portugal, was able-bodied and did not need to use a wheelchair.
He admitted smuggling class A drugs at Manchester Crown Court last week and was jailed for six years and nine months today (thurs).
Earlier this week 71-year-old Ronald Lord was jailed for six years after he tried to smuggle £600,000 of cocaine into England in his mobility scooter.
Lord, from Montreal, Canada, was stopped by Border Force officers at Gatwick Airport on 7 February 2025.
NCA senior investigating officer Charles Lee, said: ‘Organised crime groups will try anything possible to smuggle drugs, but using a wheelchair and a man pretending to be disabled is particularly abhorrent.
‘The NCA works with partners at home and abroad to combat the threat of Class A drugs and protect the UK public.’
