Trans woman smuggled drugs to fund gender reassignment surgery
Keira Borrett, who was born male but identifies as a woman, agreed to smuggle 26kg of the drug from Thailand in exchange for £10,000 for gender reassignment surgery.
Borrett, 46, was jailed for 18 months at Isleworth Crown Court after admitting the offence.
The court heard Borrett was discovered with two suitcases filled with vacuum-sealed packs of herbal cannabis at Heathrow Airport in May.
Sahra Ali, prosecuting, said Borrett agreed to smuggle the cases for the five-figure sum after meeting a man from Essex in a Bangkok bar during a birthday holiday.
The smuggler told police that the pair had a conversation about 'sex change operations and how expensive they were' before two associates of the man proposed Borrett taking two suitcases back to Britain.
The 'very heavy' bags were dropped off by men in an SUV before Borrett flew back to Britain on May 23. The men gave instructions to take the bags to a hotel where they would be picked up and the cash handed over.
'She was not under any duress, she did this willingly,' Ms Ali told the court. 'There was an expectation of significant financial advance.'
The court heard that Borrett, from Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk, claimed to not have known what was in the bags or inspected their contents.
Since being arrested, Borrett has been held on remand at HMP Wormwood Scrubs, a male prison in west London.
Sebastian Cox, defending, said Borrett should be spared a prison sentence after being forced to 'detransition', stop using female pronouns and wear male clothing at Wormwood Scrubs.
'Every day in prison has been harder for her given her identity,' he said.
Mr Cox also interrupted Ms Ali to ask that she use female pronouns when referring to Borrett.
'Miss Borrett identifies as a woman and I'd be grateful if you could address her as such,' he said.
'A very silly decision'
Mr Cox admitted that Borrett had shown a 'lack of judgment' by smuggling the drugs but said it was 'out of character' and an 'isolated incident'.
'The offer of money and knowing what it could have done for her life,' he said. 'She made a very silly decision. She is remorseful in the extreme knowing the impact this has had on her family and friends.'
But the court was told that Borrett had also visited Thailand a few months earlier.
Handing down the 18-month sentence, Recorder Kate Aubrey-Johnson said: 'Although you say it was an impulsive decision, the fact that you had travelled to Thailand before makes me wonder how much credibility I can give to that.
'This is an offence that is prevalent. We know that criminals target individuals to act as couriers.
'As cannabis has been made legal in other parts of the world; it means these criminal operations are now increasingly looking to bring drugs into the UK.'
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