A mum-of-one sparked a huge drugs alert after customs officers thought packs of WASHING POWDER she was shipping back to Jamaica – was COCAINE.
Sharon Jaddoo, 44, spent months packing 80 kilo drums with items to send to her disabled 77-year-old aunt in Kingston.
However, when the shipment arrived in the Caribbean customs officers pounced, believing it to be a cache of smuggled Class A drugs.
Drugs teams tore apart four packs of Surf and Prudax washing powder as well as TEA BAGS in the fruitless search for the stash.
The package for her Aunt Mavis was eventually delivered to her in the Jamaican capital – but with many of the items ruined.
Sharon said she has now been left hundreds of pounds out of pocket due to her goods being damaged by ‘jobsworth’ drugs officials.
Sharon, from Handsworth, Birmingham, fumed: “I was so shocked, I have been left totally out of pocket.
“I found out they had ruined both the packages, all the liquids had been slashed, there were things missing, it was just awful.
“My aunt is an old lady, she is blind in her left eye and her right one isn’t very good either, she needed these products because she can’t afford them and Jamaica is a very expensive place to live.
“It is stupid that you can suggest that soap powder and washing up liquid was drugs.
“I just can’t believe how this has happened.
“I don’t understand how they can be so stupid. It’s not like I’d put them in clear plastic bags – they were in their original boxes.
“Maybe check one or two things, but to search through everything was ludicrous.
“They were just being jobsworth idiots.
“I tend to send things to my aunt every six to eight months, although I will have to find another company to do this with now.”
Ms Jaddoo has already argued her case with the shipping company who she she paid #370 to make the overseas delivery.
Swift Connections claim it was Sharon’s fault her groceries were seized, claiming she should have packed the items with greater care.
The firm have offered her a £200 ‘goodwill’ gesture but she is still demanding compensation for items including cooking oil, rice, custard and toothpaste.
She added: ““I did get a £200 cheque, but that just doesn’t cover it, to send the four barrels is £100 alone, that is without the price of the items inside.
“In total I have lost around four or five hundred pounds.
“I believe it is their fault because I paid the company to ship the package door to door and I did not get this service.”
Ms Jaddoo is seeking compensation for:
Six bags of rice.
Three shirts.
Ten packs of crackers.
Ten packs of ginger nuts.
Ten packs of rich tea buscuits.
A large bottle of cooking oil.
One bag of handsoap.
Six packets of tooth-paste.
Six large packets of roasted peanuts.
Six large packets of salted nuts.
One case of custard.
Fresh garlic.
Six handwash packets.
Three large bottles of washing up liquid.
Six bottles of Detol.
Ten boxes of teabags.
Comfort conditioner.
Two big bags of sugar.
It sounds like this lady is just trying her luck! I often ship to Jamaica and EVERY barrel is searched prior to it leaving the port, it doesnt matter who you ship with. The items she has listed do not equate to £400 or £500
I see by your comment that you have remained anonymous, if you make a comment without all the details, at least have the guts to put your name. Coward !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You can talk!
It is unfortunate that Customs Officer pounced on her barrels thinking that it was drugs, the customs department is independent of the Shipping Company. It is irrelevant that she says the barrels were booked to be delivered door to door as this does not exempt them from being checked by customs.
If compensation is warranted then she should be writing to Customs for this and not trying to blame this on the shipping company who out of goodwill has already given her £200 which is very commendable as the items listed at the bottom of the article do not amount to £400. It is clear that this woman is trying her luck!!
i was not in my house wen the post man came and it was special delivery and someone would have to sign for it so it was sent back on the 27th july,so i did not get any thing.thank you
yes I think customs should pay after all they were the ones who destroyed everything,sounds like they are a law onto them self.They should pay 4 all the damage,and more too
Unfortunately This news report is not fully detailed as all the information has not been correctly input! And some issues have been mistranslated.
The products shown in the list given is the items within a SINGLE barrel, however this incident involved TWO barrels, That list was sent through for the first barrel which totaled around £183 worth of goods. It is roughly £100 to send a single barrel which creates £283 worth of loss and damage from a single barrel.
Furthermore, a cheque of £200 was sent out via post, HOWEVER, the cheque has not been received or signed for and is lost at the post office as the so-called BIG SHIPPING COMPANY was not intelligent enough to attach a return address on the cheque sent by special delivery.
As far as I am concerned this is negligence on the companies behalf, due to the original separation of the 4 barrels, not covering for the loss and damages when in their possession and the actual treatment (insurance) given when trying to resolve the issue.
£200 was not agreed by both parties but ISSUED OUT without any form of negotiation, how can you expect someone to accept £200 compensation for Goods (FROM TWO BARRELS) equating to an estimated £600 (inc shipping costs), ESPECIALLY when the company did not even have the decency to say we will negotiate £200 compensation and instead just sent it out hoping nothing will be said concerning the issue.
If you want, I could go into further detail about the actions of Swift connections, post the news paper article originally released in Birmingham Mail, and how they have further mistreated Sharon Jaddoo.
If you wish to know who made this comment, My name is Alexander Jaddoo, SON of Sharon Jaddoo, who has witnessed and seen as well as paid for products that was within the barrels. Feel free to make comments about trying our luck, but end of the day if the issues that we have had happened to yourself you would be doing something along the similar lines as we have, considering that they were unwilling to help in the first place and the final resolution was to place a newspaper article.
Feel free to voice your opinions
what is your house rules
so none of my family cannot put there
comment on this
I WAS TOLD THAT A MAN SENT DOWN SOME CLARK’S SHOES DOWN 2 JAMAICA WITH THE SAME COMPANIE AND THEM WENT MISSING FROM UP HERE AND UP 2 NOW HE HAS NOT HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT THEM