Brit mum, 45, admits smuggling £500,000-worth of cannabis into UK after bragging she was ‘heading home to cut the grass’

A BRIT mum has admitted smuggling over £500,000 worth of cannabis into the UK inside her suitcases. Amy Jayne Durban stuffed her luggage full of 51.2kg of the illegal substance on a flight back home from Thailand. Amy Jayne Durban pleaded guilty to smuggling Class B drugs Credit: Jam Press Durban was arrested in Heathrow Airport after jetting in from Bangkok Credit: Jam Press The 45-year-old’s haul had a street value of around £512,000. Durban, from Hemyock, Cullompton, Devon, was greeted by border force after arriving back in the UK on July 6. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! She was the centre of a National Crime Agency investigation and was arrested in Heathrow Airport after jetting in from Bangkok. After appearing at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court in July, she pleaded guilty to smuggling Class B drugs at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday. She was remanded into custody and her sentencing is due to take place on October 14. Just days before her arrest, Amy made a cryptic post on social media. She said on Facebook: “On her way home to cut the grass if you know what I mean. No ETA so you won’t know I’m about to hit your lawn.” According to the NCA, there has been a rapid rise in drug couriers attempting to smuggle cannabis into the UK. Most read in The Sun The 45-year-old’s haul had a street value of around £512,000 Credit: Jam Press The suitcases containing the cannabis after she was arrested at Heathrow airport Credit: Jam Press/NCA Brits are usually approached on social media by organised gangs who are offering a “free” holiday and spending money in exchange for being smugglers. They are tasked with taking the cannabis home where other criminals in the UK will pick them up and move them on. A jaw-dropping 464 per cent increase in cannabis plane smugglers was seen between 2023 and 2024 – jumping from 142 to 801 people being caught. The figure rose once again in 2025 and 2026 is reportedly on track to be even worse – with 600 passengers arrested in the first six months of the year. Durban was the centre of a National Crime Agency investigation Credit: Jam Press Durban was remanded into custody and her sentencing is due to take place on October 14 Credit: Jam Press She bragged that she heading home to ‘cut the grass’ Credit: Jam Press The mum pleaded guilty to smuggling Class B drugs Credit: Jam Press/NCA Durban’s conviction comes after NCA and partners in Thailand announced a new crackdown in the country. Those caught trying to smuggle cannabis now face huge fines, equating to £680 per kilogram. An “average” smuggler is caught in Thailand with 26kg – which would land them with a £17,680 fine. If not paid, the smuggler faces a two-year jail sentence in a Thai prison. Mark Abbott, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “There are really bad outcomes at home and abroad when couriers are caught smuggling cannabis. “As well as time in prison, a life-changing conviction will damage future career and travel prospects. “People should understand that these crime groups use profits from cannabis smuggling to fund the trafficking of other drugs too. “All of those drugs fuel wider crime in our communities and have a toxic effect on people’s lives.” Durban was arrested after jetting in from Bangkok Credit: Jam Press Frontline of Border Force’s drug mule crackdown By Thea Jacobs, Feature Writer Drug dealers have pivoted tactics from targeting glam girls on Instagram to looking for lads on their first holiday to bring back cannabis. Often they’re offered free business class flights to Thailand with £10,000 spending money when they land – in return for a small favour. “Organised crime groups are now targeting young men, and we see them trying to smuggle cannabis through airports the most now,” said Kate, from Border Force’s National Safeguarding and Modern Slavery Team. International drug smuggling can result in a jail term of up to 14 years in the UK, but in some other countries, like Sri Lanka, it can be a death sentence. It takes minutes for The Sun to find TikTok adverts offering free holidays to Thailand for a small “totally legal” favour which is actually bringing home a suitcase stuffed with cannabis – an international drug smuggling offence. Other adverts promise potential mules “you won’t get caught” and tempts potential victims with videos of Rolex watches, stacks of cash and scenery from Thailand. The Sun joined Border Force during their annual Operation Karetu which is focused on safeguarding youngsters as they head out on their summer holidays. This year, the focus is on cannabis smuggling as to date 600 mules have been arrested in airports in 2026 alone. Last year, Border Force seized more than 167,000kg of herbal cannabis, which has an estimated street value of more than £2bn. It’s the highest amount ever recorded and is a 54 per cent increase on 2024. The rise in weed smuggling from Thailand comes after the country decriminalised possession – but smuggling still faces hefty fines, with the average being around £17,700. 1 comment1