Scott Parker pleads guilty to

Scott Parker pleads guilty to importing more than R23million of heroin into the UK

Scott Parker returned to court on 18 June 2015 to amend his plea to guilty of the charges of smuggling £1,2million worth of heroin into the UK as well as carrying an article with a blade or a point in a public place. Parker was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.

Scott Parker pleads guilty to

Scott Parker was arrested at Heathrow Airport on  21 November 2014, for importing a large quantity of heroin into the United Kingdom. Parker, a dual South African and United Kingdom citizen, was already in London when the cats were loaded for transport at OR Tambo on the evening of 20 November 2014.

On 19 February 2015 a second charge was added to Parker’s charge sheet, namely that Parker was “having an article (namely a lock knife) with a blade or a point in a public place namely Heathrow Airport” at the time of his arrest.

Parker pleaded not guilty to both charges when in court 19 February 2015. Parker’s trial on these matters, was set for the first week of August 2015, with video links to South Africa were to be established to interview witnesses. The video links were going to be funded by the United Kingdom’s Legal Aid fund.

Parker requested a hearing with the Judge and returned to court on 18 June 2015, amending his plea to guilty on both counts.

The reasons for Parker’s change of heart remain unknown at this time. Parker has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, and his sentence is already underway.

The Heathrow Animal Reception Centre discovered the drugs in the empty crates used to transport cats that had been relocated to the United Kingdom from OR Tambo. The exact weight of the heroin seized was amended in court on 18 June 2015 to 9kgs of high-purity heroin with a confirmed street value of £1,2 million, (R23 million).

The cats were later reunited with their owners, who were completely unaware their animals had been used as a front for smuggling.

During the court hearing of 19 February 2015, the Crown Prosecution Service stated that there were investigations continuing in South Africa particularly in relation to the two owners of the company and if there is any question or any evidence that they are involved in this then the Crown’s attitude would be to proceed against them. The CPS has not issued any further charges on this matter as the time of going to press.

The South African reached out for comment from Parker’s employer at the time the drugs were smuggled into the United Kingdom to little success.

The South African also reached out to the National Crime agency for comment regarding further investigations, but they were unable to comment.

Photos provided by the National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom show the wooden crates that were used to transport the animals for Parker and the company he works for. The photos show how the drugs were deeply concealed within these wooden crates.

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Ian Truby, from the National Crime Agency’s Border Investigation Team at Heathrow, said:

“This was a highly unusual attempt to bring a substantial quantity of class A drugs into the UK.

“Parker thought he would avoid our attention. But the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre staff were vigilant and our investigation showed that he knew the drugs were there.

“Working with Border Force we will continue to target those who attempt to bring illegal drugs into the UK.”