A Liverpool woman has been jailed after she was caught with thousands in cash, gift vouchers and a designer watch, suspected to be proceeds from drug crime.
Danielle Shields, 43, was stopped by customs officers at Jersey Airport as she attempted to board a flight back to Liverpool in February this year. Officers had already stopped her the day before when she arrived with just £20 and a bank card, claiming she was staying at the luxury Royal Yacht hotel.
But during her return journey, her bags told a very different story.
Inside, customs officers discovered £2,336 in cash, £800 worth of JD Sports vouchers, shopping receipts, and a postal receipt for a package she’d sent. Shields also admitted to hiding a further £1,360 internally. She was wearing a brand-new Tag Heuer watch at the time of her arrest.
That package she’d sent? Intercepted by officers and found to contain nothing but the empty Tag Heuer box and a receipt for the £2,100 timepiece.
Under questioning, Shields admitted the cash was likely from drug sales and confessed to previously moving money off the island for unknown individuals. Officers also uncovered that she had travelled to Jersey on 15 separate occasions since December 2023.
In court, Shields claimed she had been pressured into collecting and transporting the money. Her defence argued she had become involved in something she deeply regretted and had no intention of repeating.
Jersey’s Royal Court was told Shields was deemed at high risk of reoffending. She was jailed for 21 months.
Crown Advocate Lauren Hallam told the court: “It is overwhelmingly likely that this money came from the sale of drugs. Moving money is a key part of the illegal drugs trade.”
Senior manager at Jersey Customs and Immigration, Paul Le Monnier, said after sentencing: “This kind of seizure hits criminals where it hurts – in their wallets – and helps stop further drug activity.”
Police and customs authorities say Jersey continues to be a target for Liverpool-based organised crime due to its wealth, isolation, and the high value of drugs on the island.
