A Class A drug trafficker who disguised ecstasy as bath salts worth hundreds of thousands of pounds has been handed a jail sentence of over seven years.
Abigail Kavanagh, 25, played a ‘pivotal’ role in the trafficking and helped flood UK prisons with the ‘zombie’ drug Spice for a smuggling ring before she was stopped by border force officers.
An investigation by police looking into the import of wholesale quantities of MDMA – known as Ecstasy – led to her arrest.
Officials at East Midlands Airport intercepted a package sent from over 1,000 miles away in Austria and destined for Kavanagh’s home address in Ely, Cardiff.
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The package had 10 kilograms of MDMA disguised as bath salts – and the drugs had a potential street value of £300,000.
A young female gang member who disguised ecstasy as bath salts and smuggled drugs into prisons has been jailed for over seven years
Abigail Kavanagh, 25, played a role in trafficking Class A drugs worth around ££300,000 for an organised crime gang
Officers of Operation Gemstone run by Tarian, the Regional Organised Crime Unit for southern Wales, then arrested Kavanagh at her home.
Police discovered secret messages from her phone that her role in the gang also involved arranging deliveries of Spice to prisons across South Wales and collecting cash for the group.
Kavanagh was sentenced at Newport Crown Court on Tuesday, October 22, for her role in trafficking controlled drugs on behalf of the group.
His Honour Judge Williams said: ‘You knew you were playing for high stakes, and you lost.’
Kavanagh of Ely, Cardiff, was initially sentenced to nine years in prison – but reduced to seven years and six months following a guilty plea.
Kavanagh was tasked with receiving Class A drugs with a potential street value of hundreds of thousands of pounds
Abigail Kavanagh mugshot. She was sentenced at Newport Crown Court on Tuesday, October 22, for her role in trafficking controlled drugs on behalf of the group
Speaking after the sentence Detective Constable Rhys Richards, of Tarian, said: ‘Abigail Kavanagh was a pivotal member of an organised crime group.
‘She was tasked with receiving Class A drugs with a potential street value of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
‘She was also tasked with arranging deliveries of Spice to prisons and collecting cash for the group.
‘Offenders who import and traffic drugs around our communities and prisons do not care about the harm they bring. Their sole concern is profit.
‘Kavanagh has received a lengthy custodial sentence, which sends a clear message to those who choose to get involved in this type of criminality.
‘Tarian will continue to work closely with partner agencies, including Border Force and the National Crime Agency, to use every resource within our power to bring these offenders to justice.’
