Olympian Madiea Ghafoor jailed eight and half years for drug smuggling and trafficking


Dutch Olympian Madiea Ghafoor has been jailed for eight and a half years for drug smuggling and trafficking.

Ghafoor, 27, competed at the Rio Olympics in 2016 in the 4x400m relay.

She was stopped at a routine border check in Germany in June, when she was found to have £2m worth of drugs in the boot of her car.

Ghafoo appeared at Kleve District Court on Monday and told the court she thought she was carrying doping materials.

She was found to have 50kg of ecstasy tablets, 2kg of crystal meth and almost €11,950 (£10,317) in cash.

The Dutch Athletics Union said: "We are stunned by the judgements.
"With the ruling of the German court, the Athletics Union rejects the actions of Ghafoor.

"The Athletics Union condemns any use or trade in doping or drugs and fully commits itself to the Dutch doping law."

Ghafoor pleaded not guilty to the charge and indicated she is likely to appeal.

She also refused to say who gave her the drugs, admitting she fears for the safety of her friends and family.

The 27-year-old is of Pakistani descent but was born and raised in Amsterdam.

Having caught the eye in the Junior Championships, she has since represented Netherlands at the European Championships.

She was part of the squad in Rio in 2016, became the first female athlete of Baloch origin to compete.

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