Cocaine haul worth £1 million found hidden inside electric wheelchair during Manchester Airport security check

1 April 2025, 21:46

A man has been charged with drug smuggling after attempting to sneak £1 million worth of cocaine into Manchester Airport in an electric wheelchair.

Casimiro De Lemos Francisco, 56, was stopped at Manchester Airport on Sunday after arriving in the UK on a flight from Barbados.

As he passed through security, Border Force officers found his wheelchair was full of cocaine, 11 packages in all, weighing 12kg.

De Lemos Francisco, a Portuguese national, was remanded today at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court and will appear next at Manchester Crown Court on 6 May, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

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Read more: Hundreds of ‘brazen’ passengers found trying to smuggle drugs into UK in full suitcases

NCA senior investigating officer Charles Lee, said: “The concealment shows the ingenuity crime groups employ to smuggle cocaine.

“The NCA works with partners at home and abroad to combat the threat of Class A drugs and protect the UK public.”

Last year, authorities warned drugs are increasingly being smuggled into the UK by hundreds of ‘brazen’ air passengers, who are filling entire suitcases with them.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) says it’s seen a huge surge in the amount of cannabis and cocaine being seized from arrivals at UK airports, despite luggage going through checks before departure.

“We’ve had one flight with half a tonne of drugs in bags on it,” Director General for Operations, Rob Jones said.

Speaking to LBC, he said: “Over the years, we’ve gotten very good at investigating sophisticated couriers who have false compartments in suitcases, but what we’re seeing at the moment is a growth of people checking in bags literally full of drugs.”