Five jailed over £13.8 million cannabis smuggling plot through Birmingham Airport
The bags were so heavy that the smugglers had to pay excess baggage charges at Bangkok Airport
Five members of a drugs smuggling gang involved in a plot to bring £13.8 million worth of cannabis into the UK through Birmingham Airport have been jailed.
The gang was caught after Border Force officers discovered 460kg of the Class B drug hidden inside 22 suitcases in August 2024.
The couriers had travelled from Thailand via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, with each carrying two suitcases containing around 20kg of cannabis.
The bags were so heavy that the smugglers had to pay excess baggage charges at Bangkok Airport before boarding their flights.
Each suitcase contained vacuum-packed cannabis concealed beneath a thin layer of clothing, while eight of the bags were fitted with Apple AirTag trackers.
National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators later established that all eight trackers were connected to the same Apple ID account.
Suspicions were raised when Border Force officers linked the seizures to other passengers arriving at Birmingham Airport on connecting flights.
Officers responded by fully staffing the airport's 'nothing to declare' green customs channel, leading to the discovery of the drugs.
The court heard how one courier had been instructed to wait for a contact at the airport before collecting their luggage.
A message read: "My man gonna be on the other side – don't leave the airport until you see him leave. Even if your bags are there just let them go round on the belt, go toilet etc. etc."
Five defendants were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday, October 22.
Gideon Oluwasetemi Olumoyegun, 26, from Dagenham, and Ryan Boachie, 32, from Edmonton, North London, were each jailed for 24 months.
Claire McCullough, 36, from Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, received a 24-month prison sentence, with a further two months to be served consecutively for assaulting a shop worker.
Jaden Ramen, 23, from Colliers Wood, South London, was sentenced to 32 months in prison, while Paige Crisp, 25, from Broomhall, Worcester, was jailed for 30 months.
Two further defendants, Tasia Nelson, 22, from Newquay, Cornwall, and Jamal Clarke, 22, from Walthamstow, London, are due to be sentenced on October 30.
Crisp, Nelson and Ramen were convicted on August 19 following a four-week trial, while McCullough, Boachie, Olumoyegun and Clarke had previously pleaded guilty.
Four other couriers involved in the same conspiracy were sentenced to a combined total of more than 11 years in prison at Birmingham Crown Court on September 21.
Two of those defendants, Kyei and Vitorino, were convicted on May 26 following a three-week trial, while Ross and Lloyd changed their pleas to guilty during proceedings.
NCA senior investigating officer Paul Boniface said: "These couriers are now facing time in prison and life-altering convictions that put future career and travel prospects in serious peril.
"Their cases should serve as a warning to others that it's not worth the risk, and the price paid is simply too high.
"We are grateful to our partners at Border Force who discovered these drugs. The NCA will continue to do all we can to stop drugs being smuggled into the UK and deprive criminal groups of profits."