£5m UK cannabis bust leaves Thai holidaymakers feeling high and dry

In a dramatic bust at Birmingham Airport in the UK, a staggering 5 million pounds (around 225 million baht) worth of cannabis was uncovered in just one day, as Thai holidaymakers flooded the terminal.

A whopping 510 kilogrammes of the drug were found stashed in 28 suitcases on August 9, leading to the arrest of 11 British travellers who had flown in from Thailand via Paris Charles de Gaulle. The accused have been bailed until November 9, leaving the National Crime Agency (NCA) to issue a stern warning: drug smugglers face serious prison time.

The NCA highlighted a worrying surge in arrests related to cannabis smuggling from flights arriving from Thailand, Canada, and the United States. This year alone, 378 people have been arrested in connection with cannabis smuggling through UK airports. With an estimated 15 tonnes of the drug seized so far this year, this figure already triples the amount confiscated in 2023, which saw 136 arrests and the seizure of 5 tonnes of cannabis.

The trend shows no signs of slowing down. More than half of this year’s arrests, 184, involved cannabis originating from Thailand. In addition, 75 arrests were linked to cannabis from Canada and 47 from the United States.

Shockingly, couriers believed they were only risking a fine, despite the maximum UK penalty for cannabis importation being 14 years in prison. So far, 196 people have been convicted this year, receiving sentences totalling nearly 188 years.

One of the most significant busts occurred in May when 51 year old Spaniard Fernando Mayans Fuster was caught at Manchester Airport with eight suitcases containing 158 kilogrammes of cannabis after arriving from Los Angeles. He was jailed for three years and four months.

James Babbage, the NCA’s Director General of Threats, warned that organised crime gangs are capitalising on the legal cannabis market abroad to smuggle high-quality products into the UK, risking couriers’ lives in the process, reported Birmingham Mail.

“The risks of getting caught are high, and it just isn’t worth that risk.”