A man caught by a sniffer dog at Ronaldsway Airport as he tried to smuggle criminal cash off the island has narrowly avoided prison.

Delivery driver Toby Cross, 29, had around £20,000 in his hold luggage on February 17 as he tried to board a flight to Manchester.

He appeared at the Court of General Gaol Delivery on Friday having previously pleaded guilty to attempting to remove criminal property from the island.

Peter Connick, prosecuting, told the court Cross was at Ronaldsway Airport on February 17, aiming to depart on the 9.45am Logan Air flight to Manchester.

Security staff at the airport became suspicious as Cross smelled of cannabis.

He was searched but staff found nothing on him, and he was allowed into the departure lounge. However, they told colleagues to search his suitcase, and a sniffer dog was used to locate his luggage.

Police opened the bag and found around £20,000 in cash inside it.

Cross, whose address was given as Prescot, Merseyside, was arrested and interviewed. He told officers he had been on the island since February 14, staying at Premier Inn while visiting family and friends.

He said that he used to live on the island and was a self-employed delivery driver.

Cross was subsequently arrested and taken to police headquarters, where during an interview he answered ‘no comment’ to all questions.

In mitigation, advocate Helen Lobb said her client has had time to reflect and has a job lined up in Manchester.

Deemster Graeme Cook acknowledged Cross had been pressured into removing the cash to clear a drug debt and decided he would suspend any sentence.

Cross was handed an eight-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months with supervision.

Last year, the Isle of Man Constabulary announced it had recruited four specialist animals to sniff out illegal drugs and large amounts of cash criminals make from their nefarious operations.