Dagenham woman charged with cocaine smuggling

A Dagenham woman has been charged with attempting to smuggle an estimated 12 kilos of cocaine into the UK via Gatwick Airport.

Aimee Mason, 22, of Singleton Road, was arrested on Sunday after arriving on a flight from Antigua.

UK Border Agency officers at the airport’s South Terminal found the drugs packed inside a suitcase. The cocaine had an estimated street value of �480,000.

Miss Mason was charged with attempting to import a class A substance and appeared before Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Monday. She was remanded in custody until her next appearance before the same court on December 5.

Ingrid Smith, assistant director for the UK Border Agency at Gatwick Airport, said: “Our officers are on constant alert to keep class A drugs and other banned substances out of the UK.

“We are determined to prevent this terrible trade which can have such a destructive impact on the lives of so many.”

Anyone with information about activity they suspect may be linked to drug smuggling can call the smuggling hotline on 0800 59 5000.