Ramsey man tried to post drugs money hidden in Lego box

Heroin addict jailed for seven years

Report from BBC Isle of Man

A Manx heroin addict who tried to send drugs money to Liverpool by telling post office staff the parcel contained a toy has been jailed for seven years.

Scott Carbutt, 41, was reported to police after trying to insure the package for £1,000.

Douglas Courthouse heard he was later caught trying to hide more than £8,000 of heroin when police arrested him in November 2021.

Carbutt was also sentenced for hitting a man with a baseball bat.

He had tried to post a parcel, which he said contained a child's toy, to a man in Liverpool, the court heard.

The parcel, which had his home in Ramsey as the return address on it, was found to contain £700 in English bank notes wrapped up in a Lego box.

Staff at Ramsey Post Office became suspicious when he tried to send it by special delivery, insured for £1,000.

He was found by police trying to conceal heroin in a black wrap and a search of his home uncovered £4,925 stashed in a silver case in the spare room, and a further £190 in his wallet.

Carbutt initially claimed he had saved the cash from benefits and his work as a plasterer.

The court heard that while he was on bail for those offences, he attacked a man with a baseball bat in June last year.

He pleaded guilty to possession of heroin, money laundering, possession of an offensive weapon and wounding with intent.

Sentencing Carbutt, Deemster Graeme Cook said heroin was the "worst kind of class A drug", which brought "misery" to those who used it.

The deemster also jailed Dawn Neeson, of Waterloo Road in Ramsey, for 30 months for her part in the baseball bat attack. 

The 47-year-old previously pleaded guilty to wounding with intent.