A former Netflix star has been sentenced after being caught smuggling £150,000 worth of drugs on a flight.
Too Hot To Handle star Olga Bednarska, 27, was stopped at Manchester Airport last month as she was going through customs returning from Thailand, and officers found almost 40kg of cannabis in two large suitcases.
She claimed to have been given the bags by a friend known as Tex, who allegedly paid for the flights and asked her to bring him back some designer watches and clothes.
She pleaded guilty to being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a class B drug.
The star – who has remained in custody in the weeks following her arrest – was given a 20-month sentence suspended for two years, and avoided jail time as she was ordered to complete 15 days of rehabilitation activity.
Judge John Potter told her: ‘You decided to place your trust in someone you hardly knew. You were acting under the direction of others, potentially for further profit.
‘I am sure you can imagine the harm that wholesale value drugs have on our communities when they are sold for profit. You have directly contributed to this by agreeing to do what you did.’
He said Bednarska – who wept as the sentencing was confirmed – found herself in £16,000 of debt as she ‘lived beyond her means’ to fund her lifestyle.
The judge said: ‘Over the course of the last few years, you have found yourself in financial difficulties. You have incurred debts to do with work, rent and other household costs. You have simply lived beyond your means.’
The court heard that her debt led to her turning to crime, while she agreed to the all-expenses paid trip to bring designer items out of Thailand.
She was offered £18,000 for the job, while she met up with an ‘associate’ of Tex on October 10, and checked into her hotel.
The influencer – who appeared on the third series of the Netflix dating show – was given ‘spending money’, which was used to buy the suitcases, while she was also asked to provide other items to ‘cover up’ the goods.
However, when she was returning to the UK 10 days later, officials stopped her to confirm she packed the bags herself, but she was unable to unlock the cases as she didn’t have the code.
She admitted she had been given the bags at the airport in Thailand, and officials found sealed bags of cannabis – weighing a total of 39.4kg, worth around £157k – under her clothes.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE: Everything we know about WWE’s Netflix move as fans await ‘end of an era’
MORE: TV legend, 60, ‘permanently incapacitated’ after dementia diagnosis
MORE: WWE fans ‘heartbroken’ as iconic tag team explode in bitter backstage row