A glamorous female drug smuggler who made £88,000 from trafficking a ‘zombie drug’ into UK prisons has been ordered to repay just £1 after she spent all the money.
Abigail Kavanagh, 25, flooded spice – a synthetic form of cannabis – into jails across Wales while working as part of an organised group.
The beautician also collected cash for the criminal enterprise and used secret messages to arrange the drop-offs.
Kavanagh benefited to the tune of £88,023 through her crimes but blew every penny and is unable to pay back the sum, Newport Crown Court heard.
As a result she was ordered to pay just £1.
The court previously heard how Kavanagh, trafficked Class A drugs worth around £300,000 for an organised crime gang by having the spa products shipped from abroad.
An investigation by police looking into the import of wholesale quantities of MDMA – known as Ecstasy – led to her arrest.
Border Force officers 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.
Abigail Kavanagh (pictured), 25, flooded spice – a synthetic form of cannabis – into jails across Wales while working as part of an organised group
Newport Crown Court heard how Kavanagh had managed to pocket £88,000 through her crimes but had blown every penny, meaning she is unable to pay back the sum
The beautician was previously jailed for seven years and six months after she admitted to smuggling controlled drugs including ecstasy which she disguised as bath salts. Pictured: MDMA disguised as bath salts
The package had 10 kilograms of MDMA disguised as bath salts for the bogus beautician.
The drugs had a potential street value of £300,000 when distributed by the 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 in October for her role in trafficking controlled drugs on behalf of the group.
Kavanagh was sentenced at Newport Crown Court in October for her role in trafficking controlled drugs on behalf of the group
His Honour Judge Daniel 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.
A court heard she made £88,000 through her crime but had no recoverable assets left – and was ordered to pay back a £1 nominally fee.
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.’
