A drug-smuggling County Durham hairdresser has started a six-year stretch behind bars in a Portuguese prison.
Richard William Moore, from Crook, was caught trafficking the drugs when he arrived at Lisbon Airport on July 2, last year.
The Northern Echo understands that the salon owner, who has run sites in Northumberland and County Durham, stashed drugs in his suitcases and flew them over from Thailand.
He was arrested by the Polícia Judiciária, Portugal’s higher police force, before being charged with one count of drug trafficking.
His case was sent for trial at the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon, where he admitted the offence, and was jailed for six years earlier this year.
Moore is being held at Lisbon Prison, or the Estabelecimento Prisional de Lisboa, which is in the Campolide area of central Lisbon.
Lisbon Prison, in Portugal (Image: GOOGLE)
The High Judicial Council of Lisbon has confirmed that Moore has also been fined and expelled from Portuguese territory. He will not be able to return for six years.
The drugs seized have since been ordered to be destroyed, with Moore’s suitcases, mobile phone, vacuum seal bags, baggage tags, and boarding passes all forfeited to the state.
Lisbon Prison, in Portugal (Image: GOOGLE)
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Moore has been a hairdresser and salon owner in the region for years, working for both Saks and Escape Hairdressing, according to his social media profiles.
The Northern Echo revealed in August 2025 that a County Durham man had been arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and had been detained by authorities.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson confirmed it is “supporting a British man detained in Portugal” and is in touch with the local authorities.