Broke British dad busted smuggling £100k cannabis from Thailand
Brit lost job after assault allegation, causing severe financial struggles
A cash-strapped dad who feared for his life tried to smuggle £100,000-worth (around 4.47 million baht) of cannabis from Thailand — but his secret haul was busted by airport officers.
Jason Horne, a 24 year old dad from Rycroft Avenue, Dringhouses in York, northeast England, narrowly avoided an immediate prison sentence after admitting he tried to import huge quantities of cannabis into the UK.
Horne was stopped by Border Force officers at Birmingham Airport on November 14 last year after flying in from Bangkok. When officials sliced open his two suitcases with bolt cutters, they discovered 22 vacuum-packed bags of cannabis with a street value of around £100,000.
At Birmingham Crown Court, Ilana Davis, prosecuting, told how Horne had lost his job after an allegation of assault, for which no further action was taken. He was suspended, spiralling into severe financial difficulties that left him unable to support his partner and two children.
“He was struggling with his mental health due to requests for money he didn’t have,” Davis said.
Desperate, Horne agreed to smuggle the drugs after hearing about people being paid to travel to Thailand and bring cannabis back. Although he admitted having “serious misgivings,” he feared the individuals he was working for, describing them as “dangerous.”
On the final day of his trip, he was handed two suitcases and told he’d be given further instructions on arrival in the UK. He was promised £7,000 for the job but never saw a penny.
“He said he deeply regrets his involvement and now sees it was a stupid decision,” Davis said.
Recorder Fiona Clancy acknowledged that Horne had no previous convictions and accepted he was genuinely remorseful.
“You have learned a significant lesson being remanded for some time for this offence,” she said. “There is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.”
Horne, who had already spent over seven months in custody awaiting trial, was sentenced yesterday, June 30, to two years in prison, suspended for two years, reported Birmingham Mail via Yahoo News.
He was also ordered to complete 25 days of rehabilitation activity and carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
The court heard that probation services assessed him as a low risk of reoffending, with “some potential” to rebuild his life through boxing.
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