Ex-Asda manager jailed as judge warns 'you knew exactly what you were doing'

A former Asda manager was thrown into prison after she entered into a criminal scheme and was told she knew "exactly what you were involving yourself in".

Louisa De Marco, 53, tried to smuggle over 30kg of cannabis into the UK through Manchester Airport but was caught. The 53-year-old said she had her flights to Thailand already paid for and was told she would get £10,000 if she was successfully able to bring the illegal drugs into the UK, Manchester Crown Court heard.

De Marco was stopped by customs officials and initially denied the bags were hers, denied she packed them and claimed she believed they contained tobacco.

READ MORE: 'I went to Wimbledon and was floored by price of strawberries and cream'

READ MORE: Little girl gets dropped off after school concert and vanishes - then sick truth unfolds

Prosecuting, Chloe Fordham said that De Marco, a mother, was stopped by Border Force officers at Manchester Airport after arriving on May 8, on a flight from Thailand via Abu Dhabi. Her two suitcases were found to have 31.25kg of cannabis inside, according to Manchester Evening News.

During an interview with police, De Marco said that on a previous trip to Thailand, she had met someone who told her she could make money by bringing cannabis into the UK. The mum said she was put in touch with other people who paid for a flight to Thailand for her and her friend.

De Marco said she was also offered £10,000, which she did not ultimately receive and she also refused to tell police the PIN number for her phone. Defending, Bradley Mather said the defendant was experiencing ‘financial difficulties’ at the time.

She had previously worked in a "management role" at Asda earning around £40,000 a year, but lost her job after the Covid pandemic, he said. The mum has since been unable to work and had been receiving benefits, due to physical and mental difficulties.

Mather added there had also been an element of "intimidation" from her handlers who had arranged the smuggling bid. He told the court they threatened to cancel her flights home if she refused to comply with their smuggling demands.

He appealed for De Marco to be spared jail, arguing she had strong mitigation and noting the potential impact on her adult daughter, who relies on her mother to help pay the rent at their home.

Judge Recorder Sarah Griffin instead sentenced the mum to 20 months in prison and said she would serve half of the term behind bars.

The judge said the case was serious and slammed De Marco saying she had flown out to Thailand with her "eyes wide open". She added: "You knew exactly what you were involving yourself in."

De Marco, of Broadway, Bradford, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a class B drug.