Brit couple charged over £1m Thailand drug smuggling bust
NCA officers found 51kg of cannabis in four suitcases
A British couple returning from a Thai holiday have been charged with smuggling £1 million (44 million baht) worth of cannabis into the UK, the latest in a disturbing string of cases involving drug-trafficking tourists.
Sian Warren and 36 year old Daniel McDonald, both from Salford, were stopped at Heathrow Airport, where officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) allegedly found more than 51kg of cannabis stashed across four suitcases in their luggage.
The pair appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court, reportedly charged with importing Class B drugs. They were granted bail under curfew conditions and are due to appear at Isleworth Crown Court on June 26 for a plea hearing.
Warren’s father, Tony, has spoken out in disbelief at his 34 year old daughter’s arrest, telling The Sun: “Sian’s not brought anything back, definitely not. She had her suitcase with clothes in it.”
But officials aren’t convinced and this latest bust highlights a growing trend of British travellers being implicated in drug smuggling operations linked to Thailand.
In recent weeks, three other young British women have been arrested abroad under similar circumstances.
Eighteen year old Bella May Culley was detained after landing in Georgia from Thailand with 14kg of cannabis and 2kg of hashish. Just a day later, former TUI stewardess Charlotte May Lee was reportedly caught in Sri Lanka with 46kg of high-grade Kush, valued at £1.2 million, also arriving from Thailand.
Meanwhile, 21 year old Isabella Daggett, from Leeds, remains behind bars in Dubai, where she’s been held since March on suspicion of drug offences, reported The Mirror UK.
According to Nathan Paul Southern, Operations Director at The EyeWitness Project, these aren’t isolated incidents. He believes criminal gangs are now grooming naive Western tourists to act as drug mules.
“The idea of charming strangers grooming backpackers isn’t new,” he told The Mirror. “It’s just the same old tactics in a region with a booming drug trade. The same grooming techniques we’ve seen in romance scams and human trafficking could be getting adapted for drug smuggling.”
Southeast Asia, particularly the notorious Golden Triangle bordering Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, has become the world’s leading hub for opium and synthetic drug production, surpassing Afghanistan in opium output.
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