Man jailed for snorting cocaine from Pablo Escobar's grave

A British tourist, who snorted cocaine off Pablo Escobar's grave, has been jailed for trying to smuggle the Class A drug into the UK.

During a trip to the South American country in 2018, Steven Semmens filmed his shocking actions on Facebook Live. The 39-year-old said he carried out the tasteless stunt as a bet among friends but did not expect things to go as far as they did.

The notorious footage was shared across social media at the time. It showed Semmens kneeling next to Escobar's grave with the white powder before snorting it "for a laugh" with a $5 note.

Once the clip went viral, Semmens shaved his head in an attempt to hide his identity. However, his efforts were short-lived when authorities found him and kicked him out of Colombia.

He later said it made it "awkward" to get a job and opened up about death threats he had received.

"I just thought it would be a laugh," he said at the time. "I didn’t think it would go this far."

"I was drunk at the time. I’ve been bombarded with threats that I’m going to get skinned."

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Now, he and four others (Andrew Botto, 34; Shane White, 34, and Ieuan Emlyn Williams, 37) have been sentenced at Swansea Crown Court to more than 52 years in prison.

Their plan to smuggle drugs into South Wales occurred between April 2020 and August 2021.

Judge Huw Rees said they had been involved in the trafficking and dealing of cocaine.

He said: "It goes without saying, but it seemingly needs to be said, sheer greed led you to profit from selling an insidious Class A drug without a thought or a care about the misery or danger being inflicted on others. To put it in short form - you were in it for the money and you must pay the consequences for your avarice".

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