Drugs courier who tried to smuggle cocaine worth £5.6million to Edinburgh Airport jailed

Kristopher Purvis, 35, from Durham, attempted to smuggle £5.6million worth of cocaine inside two large suitcases along with another man in July 2024. Purvis was caught after Border Force officials searched the luggage and found 15 sealed packages containing the Class A drugs.

The two men, who were carrying the suitcases and a plastic bag containing four sombreros, were stopped and searched as they made their way through the airport’s nothing-to-declare channel.

The trial took place at the High Court in Edinburgh. Pic: Ian Georgeson

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Eight vacuum-sealed plastic packages were discovered inside Purvis’s suitcase and a further seven packages were found inside his travelling companion’s case. After cutting into one, the officer found it contained a second sealed package covered in a foul-smelling yellow liquid, which appeared to be mustard. The second package contained a white powder.

Purvis was cautioned and replied: “It’s all mine, my mate had nothing to do with it. I put it in his case.” Purvis was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on April 16 after he pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of the ban on importing controlled drugs on March 4.

Moira Orr, who leads on Major Crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “This was a substantial attempt to bring significant quantities of illegal and harmful drugs through Scotland.

“Kristopher Purvis has now been held accountable thanks to an extensive Border Force operation, working with COPFS, to investigate a network of drug supply. With each case of this kind we can help reduce the harm that these drugs inflict on communities.

“We are targeting all people who threaten communities across Scotland, not only drug couriers but also those who direct their movements.”

The court heard how the two men arrived at Edinburgh after a brief layover at Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris following the flight from Mexico. The 15 packages recovered were each found to contain about three kilos of cocaine which had an average purity of 52 per cent. The maximum street value of the total haul was up to £5,640,000.