Irish boxer caught with drugs at Manchester Airport took offer he ‘couldn't refuse'

Sunday World

16-05-2025

The 36-year-old was caught with €117,180 worth of cannabis in a suitcase
An Irish boxer who was caught with drugs at Manchester Airport took an offer he 'couldn't refuse' according to his defence counsel.
Edward Nesbitt was jailed after he picked up a suitcase containing 23 kilograms of cannabis from a baggage belt in March.
The 36-year-old collected the drugs after he landed in the UK on a flight from Amsterdam.
Manchester Crown Court heard that the suitcase arrived on a flight from Singapore with Yoke Woon, an Uber driver from Malaysia.
He then left the case on a luggage carousel in Terminal 2 for the Northern Irish father of two, who then picked it up and attempted to exit the airport.
CCTV showed Woon arriving on a Singapore Airlines flight shortly after 8.30 am on March 4th. He walked through the baggage reclaim hall without collecting the luggage he checked onto the flight.
Edward Nesbitt
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On the same morning, Nesbitt arrived on a KLM flight, collected Woon's suitcase, and walked through the 'nothing to declare' channel while attempting to exit the airport.
When he was stopped and questioned by customs, he said the suitcase was not his and claimed that he had stolen it.
Officers discovered 23 kilograms of cannabis worth €117,180 (£93,600).
The two men were arrested and answered 'no comment' to questions asked throughout their interviews.
The court heard Woon left Manchester Airport following the incident, but was arrested when he returned a week later for a flight to Abu Dhabi.
Both men pleaded guilty to the fraudulent importation of class B drugs.
Nesbitt had 13 sets of previous convictions for 27 offences in Northern Ireland.
He was serving a suspended sentence at the time of the drug smuggling operation.
His defence counsel, Sarah Magill, told the court that he had a 'boxing career' in Northern Ireland, but went on to commit 'low-level' crime.
She said her client had alcohol issues, and previous 'substance' issues, and felt he had been handed an 'offer he couldn't refuse.'
Magill added that while he had split from the mother of his two children, they had a 'constructive parental relationship.'
The court heard the men had 'received very limited financial benefit' for their crimes.
Woon had no previous criminal convictions, and the court heard his role in the drug smuggling operation came as a 'complete shock and surprise' to his family, who were present in court for the proceedings.
His defence counsel, James Skelsey said he 'reluctantly' got involved in the operation, and demonstrated 'immaturity and naivety' after he was 'told he would not be in big trouble if he did get caught.'
However, he accepted his client made a 'colossal mistake' and pleaded for leniency.
In her sentencing remarks, Judge Hilary Manley said the pair 'had operated separately but in tandem' as part of the plot to import the cannabis.
While she told Woon his involvement was 'very out of character', she said Nesbitt had 'mental health problems including autism and learning difficulties.'
"It's sad that each of you has allowed yourself to be embroiled in this enterprise which has to lead to an immediate sentence of imprisonment in my judgment," she said.
Nesbitt, of Sandown Park, Northern Ireland was handed a sentence of 12 months in prison, while Woon of no fixed abode was jailed for 10 months.