'Deterrent' sentence imposed for ketamine importer

23-year-old Liverpool man jailed for 22 months

Report by BBC Isle of Man

A Liverpool man who attempted to smuggle up to £25,000 of ketamine to the Isle of Man has been jailed for 22 months.

Douglas Courthouse heard 23-year-old Samuel Ould was a foot passenger on the morning Manxman sailing to Douglas from Heysham in Lancashire on 14 December 2025 when he was stopped for a routine search.

Suspicions grew when he started shaking and changing his story about why he was travelling to the island. Officers subsequently found between £20,056 and £25,070 of ketamine in a plastic bag in his backpack.

Deemster Graeme Cook said he hoped the "deterrent sentence" would send a message that "we don't want ketamine on this island - it is a horse tranquiliser for goodness sake".

'Massive mistake'

The court also heard Ould, of no fixed address, had £44 of herbal cannabis concealed in his underwear.

When interviewed by detectives after the drugs were found, he replied "no comment".

Ould pleaded guilty to importing ketamine, possession of and with intent to supply ketamine, and importing cannabis.

His lawyer argued that he had been paying off a debt at the time and felt he was at risk if he did not commit the offence.

She described Ould as an "intelligent young man" who had studied mathematics at university.

He had made a "massive mistake", she told the court.

Deemster Cook said despite there being a "relatively low uptake" in ketamine on the Isle of Man, the amount reaching the island had increased year-on-year.

He said organised crime groups operating in the north-west of England had been taking advantage of higher profit margins on the Isle of Man.

The deemster said a deterrent sentence was justified given the "number of serious and life-threatening harms that come with the use of ketamine".

"I know from sitting on this bench that ketamine production is increasing, therefore it does cause harm to many occupants of this island," he added.

"You may not have known this when you agreed to take it to the island... [but] a message needs to get out to people like you who are preyed upon by those higher in the chain."

Ould was also placed under an exclusion order, banning him from returning to the island within five years of his release from prison.