Stephanie Thomas, 43, was said to have been a naive housewife flattered by the attentions of Matthew Wright, 38, who introduced her to crime and cocaine soon after they met in January last year. woman was sweet-talked by her boyfriend into smuggling cocaine from Venezuela wrapped up in her bikini bottoms.Seven months later the pair were caught with cocaine worth £80,000 after landing at Manchester Airport after a trip to South America.At the time Wright -- of Alfred Street, Wigan -- was on bail after being caught with £2,000 of forged bank notes after trying to pass one of them off at a Chorley hardware store. He later admitted that he had smuggled the cocaine in a bid to make 'easy money' and had roped Thomas -- of Cameron Place, Wigan -- who has children aged from four to 22, into his scheme.One of the blocks of cocaine was found inside a sock inside a trolley the pair had brought back. The other was found inside a beach bag, concealed by bikini bottoms.Wright paid for the flights out to Venezuela, where Thomas took a 'bad dose' of cocaine and became sick -- meaning the pair missed their original flight home. Later, a dealer's list of customers was found at her address in Wigan, the court heard.The couple had also travelled to Colombia -- famous for its cocaine trade -- before jetting out to Venezuela.Wright admitted his offence but Thomas was found guilty at trial. Sentencing the pair for importing class A drugs, Judge David Hernandez said Wright had taken Thomas with him to give himself a 'veneer of respectability,' while she had 'knowledge' of what he was up to. Wright was sentenced to a total of eight years and eight months for importing cocaine and possessing the forged notes, while Thomas was given four years and six months in jail.Mike O'Grady, of Revenue and Customs said: "There is no excuse for any person to get involved in this illegal and harmful trade. Today, Wright and Thomas are paying the price for their parts in an international criminal network."Working with our law enforcement colleagues both in the UK and abroad sharing intelligence we will take every action to detect, seize and bring those smuggling drugs into the country before the courts.
"This is an illegal trade which damages the lives of local people and finances wider criminal organizations."
