£240,000 worth of synthetic cannabis in the spare tyre of a car

04 September 2026

A woman has been sentenced in the Royal Court today in relation to the importation of 9.6 kilos of synthetic cannabis.

On 26 April 2026 40-year-old, Stockport resident, Kirsten Abernethy, arrived in Jersey driving a UK registered red Kia Sportage. Abernethy was stopped by Customs & Immigration Officers and she said she was coming to Jersey to visit the food festival. During a subsequent search of the vehicle the spare tyre was noticed to be heavier than it should be and when examined it was found to have 100 packages of brown resin wrapped in yellow film with an image of a camel. In total these were found to weigh 9.7 kilos. Once examined by the Official Analyst the resin was determined as 9.6 kilos of a synthetic cannabis referred to as ADB-BUTINACA, being a Class B controlled drug.

A Customs & Immigration drugs expert gave a maximum street value of the drugs in Jersey as £240,000.

Today Abernethy​ was sentenced to three years' imprisonment.

JCIS Senior Manager Luke Goddard said: "The professionalism of our Border Teams continues to disrupt the importation of commercial quantities of controlled drugs. The synthetic cannabis seized is reported as being significantly more harmful and dangerous than natural cannabis and therefore it is particularly pleasing that we have managed to prevent this drug from reaching the streets of Jersey."

Anyone with information on drug smuggling can report it anonymously via 0800 976 2222.​

​