Southend
Airport drugs mule sentencing delayed
THE
sentencing of a drugs mule who tried to smuggle cannabis through Southend
Airport has been postponed for the second time in a week due to bungling translators
and prison officers.
Spaniard
Juan Puebla, 51, who is currently in custody, admitted smuggling 1.153kg of
cannabis resin. He came over to Britain with the class B drug on an easyJet flight
from Malaga to Southend Airport on August 28.
He
was due to be sentenced at Basildon Crown Court on Monday, but Chelmsford
Prison did not bring him to court, nor did a Spanish interpreter turn up, in
what Judge David Owen- Jones described as a “disgrace”.
The
sentence was adjourned until yesterday, but it was botched again after the same
errors.
Explaining
the farce, Puebla’s solicitor, Christopher Whitcombe, said Chelmsford Prison
could not find him on their system as he has doublebarrelled first and
surnames, going by the name of Juan- Carlos Puebla-Rejon.
Meanwhile,
a translator failed to turn up again, despite the court making contact with
Capita, which was supposed to be providing one.
Judge
David Owen-Jones, said: “It is common that Spanish have double-barrelled names.
There are enough Spaniards in Chelmsford Prison for them to be aware the first
surname is the one alphabetically listed.
“And
why is the interpreter not here? It is Capita’s fault as the court made contact
and nobody turned up, which is a disgrace. We need an explanation from Capita,
otherwise this will continue time and again – cases will be adjourned and these
people are in custody and they should not be held up by a lack of personnel.”
The
drugs were worth £2,900. The court heard he has a previous conviction for low
level drug trafficking in Spain in 2012.
The
sentencing has been relisted for Thursday at Basildon Crown Court.
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