Hundreds of cannabis couriers have been caught trying to smuggle suitcases full of the drug through British airports.
They are being duped by traffickers into thinking the UK authorities are soft on cannabis and will let them off with a fine, according to the National Crime Agency.
A man who landed from Los Angeles with 158 kilos of the Class-B drug – with a street value of £1m – in his and his children’s bags was jailed for more than three years in July.
Eleven British passengers from Thailand were arrested this month at Birmingham airport when Border Force officials allegedly found 510 kilos of cannabis in their bags.
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A huge haul of cannabis, bagged up after it was seized at Manchester Airport. Pic: NCA/PA
Charles Yates, the NCA’s deputy director, said: “It’s quite brazen. Couriers are just walking through the airports with suitcases full of cannabis, thinking they are not going to be detected and if they are all they will get is a fine.
“The reality is very different and we are making many arrests and seeing couriers go to jail. The figures have risen dramatically in the past couple of years.”
There were 17 such arrests in 2022, 136 last year and already this year there have been 378 so far. In the same period the amount of cannabis seized has gone up from two to 15 tonnes.
Pic: NCA/PA
Most of the couriers, who can be paid up to £10,000 by crime gangs, are arriving from countries which have legalised cannabis for personal use and are allowing cultivation.
Among the dozen or so countries are Canada, Thailand, Germany and parts of the United States.
Mr Yates said many among the UK’s two million pot smokers believed, wrongly, that cannabis grown legally was a better, stronger product and were prepared to pay more for it.
“Actually, the THC content (potency) is relatively similar between UK grown and legally grown cannabis. I think the drug traffickers are just good at marketing it in the UK.”
Pic: NCA/PA
Canadian Chelsea Allingham, 40, arrived at Heathrow from Toronto in May with two suitcases full of cannabis and had reached the bar of her hotel when NCA officers walked up and arrested her in handcuffs.
Border Force officers had detected the drug, but let Allingham collect her bags from the carousel and followed her as she handed them over and settled down for a celebration drink. She was jailed for 10 months.
NCA Director General of Threats James Babbage said: “We would appeal to anyone who is approached to engage in smuggling to think very carefully about the potential consequences of their actions, and the risks they will run.
“We know organised criminals can be persuasive and offer to pay couriers. But the risks of getting caught are high, and it just isn’t worth that risk.
“The NCA is actively working with partners like Border Force here in the UK, and law enforcement internationally to target those involved in drug supply, including the networks behind it. Targeting those smugglers who play a crucial role in the supply chain is one way we can do that.”
Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Seema Malhotra said: “Illegal drugs cause harm to communities and fuel criminal gangs. We will not tolerate people attempting to bring them into our country.
“Our Border Force officers are committed to finding and seizing cannabis and other illegal drugs, and last year Border Force seized a record amount of cannabis.
“Anyone caught bringing cannabis to the UK will face the full force of the law, and Border Force will continue to work relentlessly alongside the NCA to keep illegal substances off our streets.”