Grandmother, 63, is drug smuggling boss, court hears

A 63-YEAR-OLD grandmother who is confined to a wheelchair was the mastermind behind an international drug-trafficking gang which conspired to smuggle over €357,000 worth of cocaine into Britain, a court heard yesterday.

Eileen Cresswell, of Chequers Road, Gloucester, organised couriers to travel to the West Indies and bring back quantities of the Class-A drug in cavities in their shoes, Bristol Crown Court was told.

Grey-haired Cresswell was wheeled into court for the first day of the trial in which she is accused of conspiring with more than six people to import cocaine between April 1, 1997, and March 21, 1998.