Drug-smuggling influencer out of prison after just 16 weeks

An Influencer who was jailed for 16 months for drug smuggling earlier this year is already out of prison – having served just a fraction of her sentence.Ellie Crampsie had £150,000 worth of cannabis stuffed into a suitcase as she travelled home from a holiday in Thailand last year.In April she was jailed for the crime, but the 23-year-old is now out of prison just 16 weeks on.Crampsie, who has thousands of followers online, uploaded a series of images to social media of her at a music festival at the weekend – despite being tagged and on a nightly curfew.She qualified for the early release after the Scottish Government passed an amendment to the Home Detention Curfew last October meaning short-term prisoners are eligible for the scheme after serving 15 per cent of their sentence as opposed to a quarter.In Crampsie’s case that would have meant less than two-and-a-half months in jail.However, the amendment changed the maximum curfew to 210 days. It was previously 180. Ellie Crampsie uploaded a series of images to social media of her at a music festival at the weekend Ellie Crampsie had £150,000 worth of cannabis stuffed into a suitcase as she travelled home from a holiday in Thailand last yearStephen Kerr, the Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, branded it a ‘shocking example of the SNP’s soft-touch justice system in action’.The MSP said: ‘The public will be outraged that this drug dealer was free to do what she wants after serving a fraction of the sentence she was given.‘This criminal has benefitted from the nationalists’ relentless weakening of the justice system which allowed offenders to be released under Home Detention Curfew after serving only 15 per cent of their sentence.’On Sunday, Crampsie, of Broomhouse in Glasgow, shared the snap of her at Coloursfest on Instagram.Pictured by the Braehead Waterfront, she was wearing a leather look khaki outfit made up of a halterneck top and hotpants, complete with beige suede boots.It is one of the latest posts she has made since she returned to social media, and the first to appear on her Instagram since her sentencing earlier this year.On TikTok she also shared footage of her at the music festival this weekend, having started using the platform for video clips again about a week earlier.The post, of her dancing to Drop the Pressure, was the first post she made since April 22, which was just days before her sentencing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.Sheriff Graeme Watson jailed her for 16 months at the court on April 24 after he accepted she had been ‘naive and potentially taken advantage of’.Passing sentence, he said: ‘You were stopped by Border Control officers with a suitcase containing over 17 kilograms [37.5lbs] of cannabis in vacuum sealed packages with a street value of up to £151,000.‘I have carefully considered the criminal justice social work report and the plea of mitigation on your behalf.‘I accept the submission on your behalf that there was a lesser degree of culpability. You knew your former partner had been involved in drugs and he asked you to check in his luggage that also contained female clothes.‘Your role was one of carrying the cannabis in your luggage and I accept there was a power imbalance in the relationship.’The sheriff said her conduct carrying the drugs was ‘reckless’, but accepted she had been ‘naive and potentially taken advantage of’.It came after she pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug in March at the same court.She had flown on an Air France flight from Thailand to the Scottish capital via Paris and was stopped by Border Force officers at Edinburgh Airport on April 16 last year.A Scottish Prison Service spokesman said: ‘We do not comment on individuals.‘We only release those in our care on a Home Detention Curfew after a careful and considered assessment of risk and with appropriate monitoring and restrictions in place.’And a Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Eligible prisoners who pass a robust risk assessment by the Scottish Prison Service and Justice Social Work may be able serve the last part of their custodial sentence under Home Detention Curfew, during which they are subject to licence conditions and a nightly curfew.‘Prisoners who fail to comply with those conditions can be recalled to prison to serve the remainder of their sentence.Coloursfest is a dance music festival, and this year was held on August 15 and 16.