The most cynical manipulation and betrayal of a mother’s love

A mum was caught with 30 kilos of cannabis at Manchester Airport in an attempt to repay her son’s drug debt - which turned out to be a lie.

Amanda Meadowcroft, 52, was stopped at the airport having flown into Manchester from Phuket, Thailand on October 9 this year. She was stopped in the ‘nothing to declare’ section and asked multiple questions about the two large suitcases she had with her. She accepted she hadn’t packed them herself and said she thought there were watches inside them, Manchester Crown Court heard.

“She said her friend said they didn’t have to pay duty on them, but refused to name this friend,” said Justin Hayhoe, prosecuting.

READ MORE: His dad wept outside the courtroom after he admitted what he'd done

“The suitcases were examined and 30 kilograms of cannabis was recovered. In each suitcase there was an Apple AirTag, which is quite common in these sorts of offences. The drugs were worth a street value of £123,000.”

She was arrested and interviewed, and said in a prepared statement that she committed the offences out of ‘fear and threat of violence’. Hugh Barton, mitigating, said his client suffered from drug addiction earlier in life but had since turned her life around.

He added: "However, she was visited by tragedy when her eldest son was murdered. Then her next son attempted suicide on multiple occasions - one of those was nearly successful.”

Her son had told her he was in debt to the tune of £30,000 to an organised crime group and said he didn’t know what to do and couldn’t pay them back. She wanted to help and he suggested for her to get involved in the importation, Mr Barton said.

“She then found out it wasn’t true - it was a lie. It represents the most cynical manipulation and betrayal of a mother’s love,” he added.

He said she had been in ‘floods of tears’ at every court hearing and was in ‘panic and despair’.

Judge Peter Horgan said Meadowcroft, of Argyle Street, Darwen, Blackburn, was not a risk to the public and handed her a 10 month jail term which was suspended for 12 months. She was also ordered to pay £500 court costs. She previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a class B drug.

As she was being escorted from the dock, the judge told her: "Don't come back."

She replied: "I won't, sir," before crying to the dock officer: “I’m going home!”