Police have warned that anyone attempting to bring drugs into the Isle of Man will be ‘proactively targeted’ following the jailing of a man caught smuggling ketamine worth up to £25,000.

Samuel Ould, 23, from Liverpool, was sentenced to 22 months in prison after being stopped during a routine check when he arrived on the island.

He was found with ketamine with an estimated street value of between £20,000 and £25,000, along with a small quantity of cannabis.

Ould has also been banned from returning to the island for five years following his release.

Inspector Jonathan Dale, of the Isle of Man Constabulary’s ports unit, said: ‘Those considering bringing controlled drugs into the Isle of Man should be in no doubt that the Constabulary will proactively target and stop them, and that offending of this nature will result in significant prison sentences.’

Police says that the stop was carried out as part of the constabulary’s ‘Protecting Our Island’ strategy, which focuses on safeguarding the island’s borders, disrupting organised criminality and preventing individuals from exploiting the island for profit.

Ould was stopped by police after arriving on the Steam Packet ferry from Heysham on December 14 last year.

He initially told officers he was in the island to visit a friend but then changed his story to say he was visiting a cousin.

The court heard he ‘started shaking’ during the interaction and was detained for a search, during which a white plastic bag containing powder was found in his backpack.

The substance was later confirmed to be ketamine weighing just over 500 grammes. The quantity seized was said in court to have a potential street value of up to £25,000.

The case was heard at the Court of General Gaol Delivery recently, where Deemster Graeme Cook said there had been an increasing number of cases involving ketamine being brought to the island.

During sentencing, the deemster indicated that ketamine offences were being treated with increasing seriousness, describing the drug as more harmful than cannabis and noting concerns about its wider impact.

He said: ‘It seems clear to me ketamine is a more serious drug than cannabis. Cannabis sells for £20 a gramme while it is £40 for ketamine.

‘I think many of us are aware of celebrities who have died from ketamine in recent years.

‘We have had an increasing number of ketamine cases on the island. I have to decide whether to impose a deterrent sentence.’

The deemster said that while cannabis can be harmful, the damage done is largely limited to mental health, but ketamine has been linked to deaths and can damage organs.

‘Ketamine is a horse tranquilliser, for goodness sake,’ Deemster Cook added.

Ould had previously admitted importing ketamine, possession of ketamine with intent to supply, and production of cannabis.

In mitigation, it was said that Ould had no previous convictions and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, and that he had expressed remorse for his actions.

However, Deemster Cook decided to impose a deterrent sentence which is six months longer for ketamine than it would have been for cannabis.