British man’s Thai-high trip goes up in smoke at Manchester customs
Another British man has been nabbed in a high-stakes arrest after being caught returning through Manchester Airport customs with two suitcases full of cannabis from Thailand. The alleged British drug mule, Ahmed Sohail, who claimed he went to Thailand to lose some weight, ended up losing much more than he bargained for.
Stopped by eagle-eyed Border Force officials, the 26 year old drug trafficker was carrying two suitcases that piqued their suspicion. While Sohail insisted he had been on an indulgent eight-day jaunt in Bangkok, a scan revealed his luggage contained not just holiday mementoes but 40 kilogrammes of the class B drug along with a crafty Apple tracking device.
Prosecutor Sophie Kenny detailed the find.
“After his arrest on August 21 this year, x-ray machines were used to search the suitcases. Within both of them were multiple vacuum-sealed packages of a herbal substance. It was tested and found to be cannabis.”
Manchester Evening News reported that Sohail confessed to being caught in a web spun by others and admitted to a role in the dodgy operation without any financial gain. Despite the gravity of the situation, he received a suspended sentence.
In his defence, barrister Benjamin Kaufman argued that Sohail was merely a pawn, manipulated by more seasoned criminals.
“He played a limited function. He appears to have been taken advantage of by those more criminally sophisticated than him.”
Kaufman added that Sohail was deeply worried about his mother’s stage 4 cancer diagnosis.
Judge Suzanna Goddard KC, handing him an 18-month suspended sentence, described him as “intelligent but foolish and naïve.”
“In life you are faced with choices and in the future, you need to make the right choice.”
Sohail, from Cargate Walk, Manchester, must now complete 200 hours of unpaid work and undergo 10 days of rehabilitation activity requirements.
Sohail’s drug bust is not an isolated case. There has been several similar high profile cases of British nationals being apprehended trying to smuggles cannabis through Manchester Airport.
A British dad of three late last month was sentenced to two years behind bars for an audacious attempt to smuggle nearly £100,000 (4.4 million baht) worth of cannabis from Thailand.
The 42 year old British man, gripped by grief and desperation after the death of his girlfriend, confessed he took the illicit gamble in hopes of using the cash to reunite with his estranged children.
In another related case last month, a down-and-out drug mule took a gamble to clear his debt to his own mother – and lost big-time at Manchester Airport.
Dean Pharoah, who owed cash to his mum, tried to smuggle over £200,000 (approximately 8 million baht) worth of cannabis into the UK after a holiday in Thailand. But UK Border Force officers had their suspicions and swooped as he passed through the Nothing to Declare channel, putting an end to his high-stakes plan.
Meanwhile, Netflix star Olga Bednarska incredibly escaped a long prison sentence despite being nabbed at Manchester Airport smuggling cannabis worth £150,000 (6.75 million baht) through customs.
The star of Netflix’s hit reality show Too Hot to Handle, found herself entangled in a scandalous drug-smuggling affair after Manchester Airport customs officers intercepted the 27 year old, as she returned from Thailand, and uncovered nearly 40 kilogrammes of cannabis stashed inside her luggage
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