FEMALE DRUG MULE CAUGHT SMUGGLING CANNABIS INTO UK IS SPARED JAIL

A female drug mule who was caught smuggling 30 kilos of cannabis into the UK has been spared jail after a court heard her 16-year-old brother was shot dead in a gang war when she was four.

Monique Zollner, 21, was arrested with £180,000 worth of the drug last April after she arrived in the UK with it stuffed into two suitcases following a flight from Canada to Manchester.

At Manchester Crown Court, Zollner of Fallowfield, Manchester, faced up to three years in jail after she admitted importing cannabis but was freed with an 18-month suspended sentence when a judge ruled she was 'vulnerable' to her age, drug habit, lack of convictions and history of 'family trauma'.

Zollner was aged just four when her brother Louis Brathwaite was gunned down during one of Britain's bloodiest turf wars in 2008.  

The schoolboy was killed when two hitmen shot him while he played slot machines with friends at a William Hill betting shop.

Police inquiries revealed his killing was linked to two other murders of young men who died in gangland shootings at the height of gang warfare in South Manchester between the rival Gooch Close, Doddington gang and Longsight Crew.

Zollner who was pictured stood at the graveside of Louis as part of a public appeal to catch her brother's killers had been 'traumatised' by the murder - plus another more recent but undisclosed incident.

The court heard she had become addicted to nitrous oxide and owed £2,000 to her mother Sophia.

She eventually fell under the spell of a drug trafficker who promised her £16,000 if she embarked on the 4,000-mile journey from Toronto to Manchester via Frankfurt bringing the haul of cannabis with her.

As she was being convicted, Zollner broke down and wept in the dock as Judge Sarah Johnston told her: 'So much of the harm these courts see on a daily basis has its roots in the illegal trade of drugs and you brought 30kg of cannabis into this city for onward distribution.

'But you are a vulnerable young woman and has suffered two incidents in your life, the first when you were a very young child and the second only a few years ago which I am satisfied have been appropriately categorised as major and traumatic.

'I'm not going to set out the details in open court but you have suffered a great deal as a consequence and your physical and mental health have deteriorated as a result and you have sought to self-medicate.

'It seems to me your family are at the most at risk of suffering, consequent upon your addiction or predisposition to abuse of nitrous oxide.

'But your candour about this is consistent with your growing maturity including a demonstration of genuine remorse and the green shoots of understanding as to the very serious offence you have committed.

'In my judgement, you need support as well as punishment and need assistance in reducing your use of nitrous oxide and instead developing more healthy coping strategies.'

Earlier the court heard Zollner was detained on April 13 when suspicions were raised about luggage she was bringing into the UK.

Miss Lisa Boocock, prosecuting said: 'Upon questioning she said she had no keys to the suitcases and accepted she had been given those suitcases to transfer them to someone else.

'There were a total of 60 packages of cannabis inside the cases weighing 500g each. In police interview she explained had accrued debt of £2,000 to her mother and in order to pay it off she had agreed with a male that she would bring in the two suitcases containing the cannabis and receive £8,000 for each one.

'There is an element of her playing a significant role in this enterprise.. However it might be considered there was some naiviety in her bringing the drugs into the country. '

Zollner who had no previous convictions was also ordered to complete 60 hours unpaid work, 15 rehabilitation activity days and a nine-month drug rehabilitation programme.

Her counsel Adam Roxborough said in mitigation: 'There was an element of pressure that has engaged her into his activity and there has been an element of naiviety.

'She has never previously had any involvement with police in terms of arrest and she was very much influenced by others further up the chain.

'It is clear this is a vulnerable young women who has suffered major family traumas. These events came about as a result of a debt owned to her mother.

'It was foolish and again another example of her naivety and immaturity to not speak to her mother about it but when someone lends themselves to others more criminally sophisticated they become prey to what they wish.

'She wouldn't pay the debt in a conventional sense so she succumbed to pressure and temptation of repaying it in another way. It is plain she wasn't the organiser of this enterprise.

'She was used presumably because she was someone less likely to attract the attention of the authorities, She is very remorseful and anxious for her family. She is heartbroken and disappointed in herself.

'Because of events in her life she has tried to self medicated using substances and she has been struggling with that. She does not have pro-criminal tendencies. She is a vulnerable individual who has been taken advantage of during what has been a very difficult life.'

Louis's killers have never been caught and a £50,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the convictions.

The teenager was not a member of a gang but was friendly with another youngster who was the intended target in the shooting on January 24 2008.

Detectives believe Louis was mistakenly gunned down in an 'act of reprisal' after the murder of Halton McCollin, 20 who was shot dead ten days earlier as he queued for a takeaway meal.

Giuseppe Gregory, 15, was shot dead in a gangland ambush May 2009 in revenge for Louis' murder.

Inquiries revealed the killers of Giuseppe hailed from Fallowfield Mad Dogs - a splinter group from the Gooch gang - had set up a MySpace site in memory of Louis.

Read more

2024-07-03T09:52:20Z dg43tfdfdgfd