Drug smugglers £13.8m plot foiled after they were forced to pay excess baggage charge

Drug smugglers whose plot to import cannabis worth £13.8million into the UK was foiled after they were forced to pay excess baggage charges have been jailed. More than 400 kilos of the Class B drug was found in 22 suitcases. A court heard some of the bags were so heavy, couriers had to pay an excess charge at Bangkok Airport to put them in the hold.The gang had tried to import the drugs from Thailand via Birmingham Airport but suspicions were raised when Border Force officials spotted four different passengers had travelled from Birmingham to Charles De Gaulle earlier that same day on August, nine 2024.Border Force then fully staffed the Nothing To Declare channel at Birmingham Airport and made the seizures.Eleven people were arrested. They each had two bags containing 20 kilos of cannabis. Officials found each suitcase had a thin layer of clothing above the vacuum-packed cannabis, and eight contained Apple Air Tag trackers. Investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA) later found the trackers were all connected to the same Apple ID account.Four members of the gang have now been sentenced. Carsten Kyei with suitcases prior to return flight. He was jailed for two-and-a-half years Gideon Olumoyegun, 26, from Dagenham, will be sentenced for his part at court next month Bradley Lloyd, 27, from Manchester was sentenced to four years imprisonment Carsten Kyeia, 21, from London was jailed for two-and-a-half years after he was found guilty Lewis Ross, 35, from Bolton was handed a two-year sentence after he pleaded guilty Carsten Kyei, 21, from Newham, east London; Bradley Lloyd, 27, from Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester; Lewis Ross, 35, from Bolton, Lancashire and Nathan Vitorino, 26, from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire were jailed for between two and four years at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday. Kyei and Vitorino were convicted in May following a three-week trial while Ross and Lloyd changed their pleas to guilty during that trial.Seven more – five men and two women – will be sentenced at the same court next month. They include Paige Crisp, a 24-year-old mother from Malvern, Worcestershire, who was convicted of attempting to carry, remove, deposit, harbour, keep, conceal and deal with Class B drugs with intent to evade prohibition on importing. The others are Gideon Oluwasetemi Olumoyegun, 26, from Dagenham; Ryan Boachie, 32, from Edmonton, north London; Jamal Clarke, 22, from Walthamstow, London; Claire McCullough, 36, from Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester; Jaden Ramen, 23, from Colliers Wood, south London; and Tasia Nelson, 22, from Newquay, Cornwall. All were charged with carrying cannabis, with intent to evade the prohibition imposed by section 3(1) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.NCA senior investigating officer Paul Boniface said afterwards: 'These sentences show that drugs couriers can end up paying a high price for smuggling cannabis to the UK.'It is simply not worth the effort, something that social media influencers promoting this lifestyle frequently overlook.'With the help of Border Force, we were able to intercept these drugs, deprive the criminal network behind the importation of considerable profits and protect the public from the damaging effects of cannabis.' Paige Crisp, 24, was convicted of attempting to carry, remove, deposit, harbour, keep, conceal and deal with Class B drugs with intent to evade prohibition Crisp, in her police mugshot, was one of a group of 11 Brits stopped by border force with 460kg worth of drugs found collectively in their luggageFigures show the number of people trying to bring cannabis into the UK has sharply increased over recent years. In 2024, 801 cannabis smugglers were caught arriving in the UK by plane – an increase of 464 per cent on 2023. This figure rose to 976 in 2025, and it's on track to rise again in 2026 with 600 air passenger couriers arrested from January to June.The sentencings follow the launch of a new NCA social media campaign warning young people that smuggling cannabis from Thailand to the UK could land them in a foreign jail, after a new fines regime was announced by the Thai government.Adam Chatfield, Head of Border Force Midlands Command, said: 'These convictions should be a stark warning to anyone considering bringing cannabis into the UK.'The young people involved now have a serious crime on their records, damaging their job prospects and life chances.'More than ever, we are working closely with law enforcement partners in the UK and overseas to combat drug smuggling, keep our communities safe and our borders secure.'