Five jailed over £13.8 million cannabis smuggling through Birmingham
Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 17:58 · Archive
Eleven smugglers have been convicted of attempting to bring nearly £14 million worth of cannabis into the UK via Birmingham Airport.
Eleven smugglers have been convicted of attempting to smuggle almost £14 million worth of cannabis through Birmingham Airport. They were arrested at the airport by Border Force officers in August 2024, having flown to the UK from Thailand via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.
The gang had packed 22 suitcases with cannabis, with each smuggler carrying two cases containing 20 kilos of the Class B drug. In total, the suitcases held 460 kilos of cannabis. The bags were so heavy that the smugglers had to pay excess baggage charges at Bangkok Airport to put them in the hold.
Each suitcase contained a thin layer of clothing placed above the vacuum-packed cannabis. Eight of the suitcases also contained Apple AirTag trackers, but the National Crime Agency found that all of the tags were connected to the same Apple ID account, a significant mistake that raised suspicion.
Border Force officers linked the travellers to others using connecting flights into Birmingham, which prompted them to fully staff the 'nothing to declare' customs green channel. This heightened scrutiny resulted in the cannabis being discovered during the August 2024 operation.
Instructions intercepted by authorities showed the smugglers had been told not to leave the airport until someone came to collect their bags, and to avoid drawing attention to themselves. All eleven smugglers were charged with smuggling cannabis into the UK at Birmingham Airport on 9 August 2024.
How it is being reported
- Birmingham Airport £13.8m cannabis gang stopped after Apple errorSome 11 cannabis smugglers looking to bring millions of pounds worth of cannabis from Thailand to Birmingham have been convictedBirminghamLive · 22 Oct, 17:50
- Five jailed over £13.8 million cannabis smuggling plot through Birmingham AirportThe bags were so heavy that the smugglers had to pay excess baggage charges at Bangkok AirportBirmingham World · 22 Oct, 17:24
- Five jailed over £13.8 million cannabis smuggling plot through Birmingham AirportThe bags were so heavy that the smugglers had to pay excess baggage charges at Bangkok AirportExpress & Star · 22 Oct, 17:24
In this story: Birmingham Airport · National Crime Agency · Border Force · Thailand · Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
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