A DRUGS smuggler who posed as a golfer and stashed £83,000 worth of cocaine in her golf clubs was rumbled by airport security staff when they found she knew nothing about the sport.

Staff at Manchester Airport asked Kayti Ella Dryer, 23, what her handicap was and she thought they were asking her if she was disabled.

Dryer said she had taken the clubs on holiday to Montego Bay in Jamaica. But her lack of golfing knowledge aroused suspicion and £83,000 of cocaine was found hidden inside her golf clubs and the struts of her bag.

Blank

An airport source said: "When asked about her handicap she looked blank and asked them to repeat the question. They asked her again, she gave no response. She clearly did not know what they were talking about and had no idea it was even a golfing term. It appeared as if she thought they were asking her if she had a disability."

Dryer has now been jailed for four years for trying to smuggle a kilo of the Class A drug through the airport. Border Agency officers had quizzed her after they noticed something suspicious when her golf bag was x-rayed.

They swabbed her luggage revealing traces of cocaine. They then drilled into the bag and clubs and found Class A drugs with a street value of £83,000. Further forensic tests showed cocaine was hidden inside the golf clubs as well as in the struts of the bag.

Hide

Mike O'Grady, of HM Revenue and Customs, said it immediately became obvious that Dryer was trying to hide something. He said: "When Dryer was asked questions about golf, it was clear that she was totally unfamiliar with the game and she had no legitimate reason for travelling with the sports equipment."

Unemployed Dryer, of Mountfield Road, Lewes in East Sussex, pleaded guilty to smuggling drugs earlier this month and was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court.

She was arrested after the flight into Manchester in April. Mr O'Grady added: "This is a serious offence and I would strongly encourage anyone with information relating to drug smuggling to contact the Customs Hotline on 0800 59 5000.

"Working with other UK agencies and prosecutors from the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office we will take every action to detect, seize and bring those smuggling drugs into the country before the courts."