A Netflix reality star has avoided jail after she was caught trying to smuggle £150,000 worth of drugs into the UK on a flight back from Thailand.
Olga Bednarska, 27, was arrested in October after being stopped by customs officers at Manchester Airport with two large suitcases containing 40kg of cannabis.
According to The Manchester Evening News, the Too Hot to Handle star claimed she was given the bags by a friend called ‘Tex’.
The influencer, who appeared in series three of the hit Netflix show, claimed this person paid for her flights and wanted her to bring back designer clothes and watches from Phuket.
A court heard that Bednarska, from Poland but living in Manchester, had ‘lived beyond her means’ and accumulated £16,000 of debt.
To pay this off, she had resorted to crime and agreed to fly to Thailand on an all-expenses paid trip to import designer items out of the country in return for £18,000.
Bednarska cried in court as she was spared prison after pleading guilty to being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a class B drug.
Instead, Judge John Potter handed her a 20-month sentence, which was suspended for two years.
Olga Bednarska, 27, was stopped by customs officers at Manchester Airport on a flight back from Thailand with two large suitcases containing 40kg of cannabis.
A court heard that Bednarska had ‘lived beyond her means’ and accumulated £16,000 of debt
Bednarska, who is originally from Poland but lives in Manchester, appeared on series 3 of Too Hot to Handle
The court heard that Bednarska met with an ‘associate’ of her friend Tex on October 10, before checking into her free hotel room in Thailand.
The two suitcases used to smuggle back the goods were purchased with ‘spending money’ given to her.
Alongside the clothes and watches, she was asked to provide ‘cover up items’ and was expected to play no further role in the scheme.
Samuel Eskdale, prosecuting, said Bednarska was stopped by Border Force officials on October 20 and confirmed she had packed the bags herself.
But she then later told officials she had been given the bags at the airport and was unable to unlock the suitcase as she did not have the code.
Mr Eskdale said: ‘She was then asked who paid for her flights and she said her friend named “Tex”. She said they wanted her to bring back designer clothes and watches.
‘The officers asked her to unlock the suitcases, but she could not provide the code to do so. She then confirmed she had been given the suitcases at the airport.’
When the cases were finally opened, vacuum sealed bags of cannabis were found hidden beneath her clothes.
Olga was a finalist on series three of Too Hot Too Handle
Bednarska was arrested in October and had been held in custody ever since
The Too Hot to Handle star claimed she was given the bags by a friend called ‘Tex’
Bednarska cried in court as she was spared prison after pleading guilty to the charges
Bednarska told officials she had been given the bags at the airport and was unable to unlock the suitcase as she did not have the code
The court heard Bednarska had no previous convictions and had been in custody since her arrest
Bednarska resorted to crime and agreed to fly to Thailand on an all-expenses paid trip to import designer items out of the country in return for £18,000
The total weight was 39.4kg, which was said to be worth around £157,600.
The court heard Bednarska had no previous convictions and had been in custody since her arrest.
Judge Potter indicated to the court that he would pass a suspended sentence of imprisonment, and so no mitigation was advanced on Bednarska’s behalf.
Judge Potter 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.
‘Via a friend of a friend, you agreed to import designer goods from Thailand. You agreed to go and do this and return 10 days later. Your expenses were to be paid by others, and you were to be paid £18,000.’
‘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.’
As well as being handed a suspended sentence, Bednarska was also ordered to complete 15 days of rehabilitation activity requirements.