A drug smuggler who imported nearly 2.5 kilos of cannabis to the island has been handed a suspended sentence.
But Deemster Graeme Cook said he was only doing so due to problems of jurisdiction across borders - as Oliver George Le-Butt Seal had already spent considerable time in custody in the UK because of the offence.
Prosecutor Hazel Carroon told the Court of General Gaol Delivery that on December 14, 2022 a Citroen arrived in the island on the ferry. The defendant was in the front passenger seat.
Suspicions were raised and the vehicle and its occupants were detained.
A search of the Citroen subsequent found a large amount of cannabis stashed in a spare tyre underneath the vehicle.
There was 2,472.6g of cannabis with a street value of £49,452 in five vacuum-sealed bags.
The court heard that no action was taken against the driver as there was only circumstantial evidence against him.
Le-Butt Seal, 35 of Lobbs Wood Close, Leicester, admitted production of the class B drug and possession with intent to supply.
In police interview, he initially denied the offence but when the bags containing the cannabis were sent for analysis, his fingerprints were found in 15 places.
The court was told the defendant was to have been paid £250 for importing the drugs and would have seen part of his £7,000 drugs debt reduced.
Defence advocate Paul Rodgers said his client’s drugs habit had been the underlying cause of his offending.
The court heard Le-Butt Seal had been recalled to prison in the UK and served an additional one year and 10 months in custody as a consequence of the Isle of Man offence.
Deemster Cook handed down a 20-month sentence suspended for two years with two years supervision.
Le-Butt Seal was also excluded from the island for a period of five years.