High and dry: British bloke nicked in Euro cannabis run flop

Third UK suspect caught in cannabis courier crackdown as Thai drug route raises alarm

Bob Scott1 day agoLast Updated: Wednesday, May 28, 2025

2,056 2 minutes read

High and dry: British bloke nicked in Euro cannabis run flop — Picture of Vienna International Airport courtesy of Skytrax

A British man has been caught red-handed trying to smuggle a suitcase crammed with cannabis from Bangkok to Newcastle, the latest bust in a growing string of drug mule disasters linked to Thailand.

The 31 year old was stopped at Vienna International Airport, yesterday, May 27, during a transit stop en route from Bangkok to Newcastle via Frankfurt, and was promptly marched off in cuffs.

Austrian customs officers uncovered a stash of 11.3 kilogrammes of cannabis split across 13 vacuum-sealed packs, all hidden in his luggage under layers of clothing. The street value? Around £95,000 (4.2 million baht).

The suitcase had been checked in from Bangkok and tagged for Newcastle. But the man’s dodgy detour came to an abrupt end in Vienna, where immigration officials slapped him in preventive custody at Korneuburg Prison, The Daily Mail reported.

Officials say the British suspect, who hasn’t been named, “made no statement” and refused to confess. The case is now in the hands of the Korneuburg public prosecutor’s office, which is probing possible links to organised trafficking.

The arrest comes as part of an emerging pattern, with Thai routes increasingly used to funnel cannabis into Europe by unsuspecting or recruited Brits.

High and dry: British bloke nicked in Euro cannabis run flop | News by Thaiger — 11.3 kilogrammes of cannabis split across 13 vacuum-sealed packs discovered in the British man’s luggage. Picture courtesy of LPD NO/Newsflash

Just a day earlier, a British couple claiming to be tourists from Thailand were busted at Valencia Airport, Spain, with 33kg of weed in their luggage.

Their nervous behaviour got them flagged by customs, and X-rays showed the suitcases contained nothing but vacuum-packed greenery, no clothes, no toiletries, nothing.

Meanwhile, 18 year old Bella May Culley, from Teesside, was arrested in Georgia on May 11 after allegedly flying from Thailand with £200,000 worth of cannabis and hashish in tow via the UAE.

And 21 year old Charlotte May Lee, a former UK flight attendant, was nicked in Sri Lanka with a whopping 46kg of cannabis, again, after a trip to Thailand. She had reportedly told friends she’d been offered a job on a boat.

Both young women had flown out of Suvarnabhumi International Airport within hours of each other. Now, questions are swirling over whether vulnerable British travellers are being groomed by Thai drug gangs.

Jemal Janashia, a former top Georgian police official, warned potential British drug traffickers.

“The fact that two young British women have taken off with large quantities of drugs from the same airport will interest investigators. They’ll be concerned that Thai gangs may be attempting to recruit vulnerable British travellers.”

With more Britons falling foul of drug laws across Europe and Asia, officials say the crackdown is far from over and the so-called “green route” from Thailand is now firmly in their crosshairs.

Bob Scott

Bob Scott is an experienced writer and editor with a passion for travel. Born and raised in Newcastle, England, he spent more than 10 years in Asia. He worked as a sports writer in the north of England and London before relocating to Asia. Now he resides in Bangkok, Thailand, where he is the Editor-in-Chief for The Thaiger English News. With a vast amount of experience from living and writing abroad, Bob Scott is an expert on all things related to Asian culture and lifestyle.