Steve Le Marquand, director of Customs enforcement

JERSEY’S Customs department is targeting foreign countries and the UK in the war against drugs.

A major advertising campaign to highlight the lengthy drug sentences handed down to drug smugglers by Jersey courts is currently running in Madeira, Portugal, Poland and the UK.

Senior officers flew to Madeira recently to meet politicians, police and Customs officials to discuss the possibility of arresting, detaining and prosecuting a suspected drug smuggler before they leave for Jersey.

Leaflets and posters are being used and articles have appeared in the Madeiran media over the last few weeks.

Steve Le Marquand, director of Customs enforcement, said: ‘Most of the individuals we encounter do not know about the Island’s sentencing policy and are surprised to learn about the penalty they are likely to face when they are charged.

‘As a service we look to publicise any sentence that is handed out to a drug courier in the media where they come from.

‘The purpose of this is to try and deter others from being used to import drugs or at least make them realise what length of sentence they are likely to get if caught.’

See Monday’s JEP for full story