Couple boxed in by police cars on 200-mile drug smuggling mission caught with £48k kilo of cocaine

Couple boxed in by police cars on 200-mile drug smuggling mission were caught with £48,000 kilo of cocaine in passenger’s footwell

  • Corey Casagrande, 34, and Jemma Connor, 27, stopped while driving to Newport
  • Connor was sat in passenger seat with kilo of cocaine by her feet, court heard 
  • Father-of-three Casagrande sentenced to two years and eight months in prison
  • Connor was handed a two-year suspended sentence and ordered to pay costs

A couple boxed in by police cars during a 200-mile drug smuggling mission were caught with a kilo of cocaine worth £48,000 in the passenger’s footwell. 

Corey Casagrande, 34, and Jemma Connor, 27, were stopped by cops while driving from Liverpool to Newport in South Wales.  

Prosecutor Peter Donnison said Casagrande had been driving with his girlfriend, Connor, sat in the passenger seat with the Class A drug by her feet.

Police also found £900 in cash when they stopped the Ford Escort on December 9 last year. 

Corey Casagrande, 34, and Jemma Connor (both pictured above), 27, were stopped by cops while driving from Liverpool to Newport in South Wales on December 9 last year

Prosecutor Peter Donnison said Casagrande had been driving with his girlfriend, Connor (pictured), sat in the passenger seat with the Class A drug by her feet

Prosecutor Peter Donnison said Casagrande had been driving with his girlfriend, Connor (pictured), sat in the passenger seat with the Class A drug by her feet

Cardiff Crown Court heard officers received a tip off about the smuggling trip and stopped the car near Abergavenny, South Wales.

The couple, both from Duffryn, Newport, admitted possession of a class A drug with intent to supply.

Ieuan Bennett, representing Connor, said she agreed to the smuggling mission after being ‘put under pressure by a family member’.

He said: ‘She was persuaded against her better judgement to do this.

‘One can only hope the person or people who were putting pressure on her will get their comeuppance at some time in the future.’

Mr Bennett added: ‘She is terrified and will never do anything like this again. She is literally shaking like a leaf and is almost hyperventilating at the prospect of prison.’

Father-of-three Casagrande, above, was jailed for two years and eight months and Connor was handed a two-year suspended sentence at Cardiff Crown Court

Father-of-three Casagrande, above, was jailed for two years and eight months and Connor was handed a two-year suspended sentence at Cardiff Crown Court

The couple, pictured together, both from Duffryn, Newport, admitted possession of a class A drug with intent to supply. Officers stopped the car after receiving a tip off, the court heard

The couple, pictured together, both from Duffryn, Newport, admitted possession of a class A drug with intent to supply. Officers stopped the car after receiving a tip off, the court heard

Tim Evans, representing Casagrande, said he was a father-of-three who had acted ‘stupidly’ and had to explain his crime to his children.

Judge Daniel Williams told the pair: ‘You knew what you were doing.

‘You did it for money and because you thought you could get away with it. You were being remarkably foolish, not naive.’

Casagrande was jailed for two years and eight months and Connor was handed a two-year suspended sentence.

She was ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work and pay costs.