A 24-year-old woman has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for her role in an attempt to smuggle cannabis valued at £13.8 million into the UK. Paige Crisp, from Malvern in Worcestershire, was among 11 people caught after travelling from Thailand to Birmingham Airport via Paris.
Border Force officers seized approximately 460 kilogrammes of cannabis concealed in 22 suitcases. Birmingham Crown Court heard that suspicions arose when four members of the group arrived from Paris carrying large suitcases. Officers found vacuum-packed cannabis beneath a thin layer of clothing.
The luggage also contained eight Apple AirTag trackers linked to the same Apple ID account. According to the report, the suitcases were heavy enough to require excess baggage payments at Bangkok Airport. Crisp was convicted following a trial alongside Tasia Nelson, 22, from Newquay, Cornwall, and Jaden Ramen, 23, from Merton, London.
Carsten Kyei, 21, from Plaistow, London, and Nathan Vitorino, 26, from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, had been found guilty at an earlier trial. Bradley Lloyd, 27, from Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, and Lewis Ross, 35, from Bolton, changed their pleas to guilty. Claire McCullough, 36, Ryan Boachie, 32, Gideon Oluwasetemi Olumoyegun, 26, and Jamal Clarke, 22, also pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.
Olumoyegun and Boachie each received 24-month sentences, while McCullough was jailed for 26 months and Ramen for 32 months. Four other members of the operation had previously received sentences totalling more than 11 years. Clarke also faces a separate allegation of failing to surrender to police.
National Crime Agency senior investigating officer Paul Boniface said the operation involved extensive planning and coordinated travel arrangements. “The detailed co-ordinated flights and luggage demonstrate the lengths criminals will go to in order to hide their offending,” he said. Boniface praised Border Force officers for intercepting the consignment and preventing those involved from profiting.