Mum-of-four arrested minutes after showing airport security her holiday pictures

Larissa Lins, 27, was intercepted by Border Force officers at Manchester Airport after arriving on a flight from Brazil. She had swallowed, hidden and stashed a kilo of the drug both inside and outside her body

A mum who smuggled nearly 100 pellets of cocaine both inside and outside her body inadvertently showed Border Force officers images of the drugs on her mobile. Larissa Lins, 27, was stopped at Manchester Airport after flying in from Brazil.

She claimed she had travelled to the UK to 'research nice places', having previously passed through France and Portugal. Despite denying any illegal activity, she showed officers photos of her time in France.

However, as they scrolled through, they came across an image of the 'white pellets'. Further investigation revealed Lins had swallowed, hidden and stashed a kilo of the narcotic both internally and externally.

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After admitting to being involved in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a class A substance, she was sentenced yesterday and told she will 'almost inevitably' be deported back to Brazil after serving 40 percent of her term. Prosecutor David Toal said that on August 24 this year, Lins had flown from Sao Paulo to Manchester via France and Portugal, carrying only a small pink cabin bag.

She spoke with Border Force officers through a Portuguese translator, stating it was her first visit to the country. She reiterated that she came to the UK to 'walk around and research nice places', reports the Mirror.

Lins insisted she had packed her own suitcase and refuted any suggestion of smuggling illicit substances into the UK. Mr Toal recounted: "She volunteered her phone to show officers images she had taken in France, and whilst looking through officers saw images of white pellets, which were believed to be cocaine. The defendant was arrested, and she told officers she had pellets of cocaine inserted inside her body since the previous day. She was taken to Wythenshawe Hospital where, at various stages, she passed all of the internal pellets."

Officers found more pellets hidden in the lining of Lins' bra during a further search. A total of 99 pellets were seized, weighing 1.1 kilos with packaging, and 923 grams without. The court was informed that the wholesale value of this amount of class A drugs was around £30,000, but it could fetch about £72,000 on the streets.

Lins was detained and during questioning, she admitted to ingesting 100 pellets before travelling to France, and then spent three days expelling them before handing them over to someone else. She also confessed that she swallowed ten more pellets the day before her flight to Manchester and had additional ones inserted internally while her 'cousin' concealed some in her bra.

She claimed she was to be paid the equivalent of £1,400 in Brazilian real for her troubles. The court heard that although she had no previous convictions in the UK or back home in Brazil, Laura Broome, defending, described her client's state as one of "sheer desperation". "That desperation was exploited," Broome said.

"She tells me she was instructed how to swallow, conceal and insert the pellets. Had any of those burst, she could have died." Judge Patrick Field KC acknowledged the risks taken by Lins imperilled not only her freedom but also her safety, underscoring her distressed mental state. Ms Broome highlighted the defendant’s deep regret and her yearning to return to her family.

"Once she had realised the seriousness of the situation, she tried to stop her partaking any further, but was told she had no choice," said the barrister. Lins, who is without a permanent residence, faced a sentence of three years behind bars. While addressing Lins, who cried throughout the proceedings, Judge Field KC said: "This sort of crime is regarded very seriously in these courts."

He underscored the fact Lins had been manipulated into service saying: "There is no doubt you were recruited to carry out the task and you were recruited by organised criminals who were more sophisticated than you and utterly unsympathetic to the risks you were running. I have no doubt [that amount of money] was a significant sum to you."