An army veteran traumatised on the battlefields of Afghanistan was roped into helping drugs barons import kilos of heroin from Amsterdam stashed inside furniture.
Christopher Traynor, 30, who had a record of "exemplary military service" in the Royal Mercian Regiment, was caught after a Border Force officer opened a package under the name 'Frank de Boer' and found 2.5kg of the Class A drug inside a pouffe.
Liverpool Crown Court heard seeing his "friends maimed" in fierce battles left Traynor, of Lightbound Road, Tranmere, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a spiralling cocaine addiction. The former infantryman ran up an unpayable debt to his dealers and was roped into working for a gang selling heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and 2C-B.
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Natalia Cornwall, prosecuting, said on February 23 this year Border Force UK officer Andrew Coley was on shift at a DPD depot in Oldbury, Birmingham, when he spotted a suspicious package posted to the UK from Amsterdam.
Ms Cornwall told the court: "This parcel had been imported into the UK by post and stated that it was sent from ‘Frank De Boer’ from an address in Amstelveen in Amsterdam. The sender name is assumed to be false, as of course Frank De Boer is a well known retired Dutch international footballer and former football manager."
Mr Coley opened the package, addressed to Traynor at his then home in Beech Road, Rock Ferry, and found it contained a green pouffe wrapped in plastic packaging. An X-ray revealed it contained three packages, and when it was opened those packages were found sealed in brown tape within a quantity of expanding foam.
A test was carried out on the contents, which tested positive for the presence of heroin. Ms Cornwall told the court examination revealed a purity of between 53-55%, and a potential street value of up to £148,440.
As a result of the seizure Merseyside Police raided Traynor's flat on March 9, finding him at home. A significant haul of drugs wrapped in plastic packages were recovered. Officers found:
- 760 pink tablets found to be the hallucinogenic Class A drug 2C-B, worth up to £5,000.
- 486g of ketamine worth up to £20,470
- 525 tablets of ecstacy worth up to £6,230
- 73g of powdered MDMA worth up to £3,675
- 1kg of cocaine worth up to £7,460
The court heard the raids also resulted in the seizure of £660 in cash, plus designer clothing and luxury Armani and Rolex watches, although the Rolex was later found to be fake. Other items including weighing scales and snap bags provided more evidence of what had been going on inside the flat.
Traynor was arrested, but provided no comment answers in his police interviews and refused to hand over the pin code to one of the phones seized from the address. However, he later pleaded guilty to importing heroin; possessing cocaine, MDMA, ketamine and 2C-B with intent to supply and possessing criminal property.
The court head he provided a basis of plea, accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service, admitting that he had been paid for allowing his home to be used to store, bag up and prepare drugs but was not involved in arranging the importation of the heroin.
Julian Nutter, defending, referred to a psychiatric report prepared for the sentencing hearing on his client's struggles since leaving the army. He said: "He has a record of exemplary military service. He was under fire on numerous occasions. His experience was such, as confirmed in the [psychiatric report], that it resulted in his being diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"His role within the army was an infantryman, the poor bloody infantry. He was regularly shot at and saw his friends maimed before his own eyes. He came out from that a lesser man than he was when he entered the service of her late Majesty."
Mr Nutter suggested his "vulnerable" client was "used as a pawn" by high-level drugs bosses - "perhaps as he was in the army". Mr Nutter said his addiction to Class A drugs had led to Traynor falling into heavy debts to an organised crime group, which the leaders used as a way of roping him into their conspiracy.
Mr Nutter said Traynor's former commanding officer, an employer, his sister and the defendant himself had all written heartfelt letters to the court.
Judge David Potter, sentencing, told Traynor he had played a significant role in flooding Merseyside with heroin. He said: "As you yourself are only too aware, the trafficking of Class A drugs brings misery to the streets of Merseyside, it brings misery to the people who are addicted to Class A drugs, and it brings misery to the families who do their best to support those addicts.
"Violence is endemic in the drug trade, and there are long-term consequences for addicts and their families."
However Judge Potter said: "The court is keenly aware there is another side to your character. You are described as a devoted family man, you served this country with distinction. You were in the army for a number of years, during which time you were deployed with the Royal Mercian Regiment to Afghanistan.
"There you witnessed events that have had long-lasting effects on your mental health, which are likely to be long-term. You are determined now to provide a better role model to your child than the one presently before this court."
Judge Potter sentenced Traynor to nine years and six months in prison, of which the court heard he would serve half in custody before being released automatically on licence.
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