Four jailed over £13.8 million cannabis smuggling plot at Birmingham Airport

Four members of a drugs smuggling gang have been jailed after attempting to bring £13.8 million worth of cannabis into the UK through Birmingham Airport.

The couriers were among 11 people arrested by Border Force officers in August 2024 after 460kg of the Class B drug was discovered packed into 22 suitcases.

The group had travelled from Thailand to Birmingham Airport on connecting flights via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Four members of the gang appeared at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday, September 21, where they were handed prison sentences ranging from two-and-a-half to four years.

Bradley Lloyd, 27, from Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, was jailed for four years, while Nathan Vitorino, 26, from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, and Lewis Ross, 35, from Bolton, were each sentenced to two years and eight months.

Carsten Kyei, 21, from Newham, East London, was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

The court heard that each courier had been carrying two suitcases packed with around 20kg of cannabis each.

The bags were so heavy that the couriers had to pay excess baggage charges at Bangkok Airport before they could be loaded into the aircraft's hold.

Each suitcase contained vacuum-packed cannabis concealed beneath a thin layer of clothing, while eight of the bags were fitted with Apple AirTag trackers.

Investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA) later established that the trackers were connected to the same Apple ID account.

The smuggling operation was uncovered after Border Force officers linked the seizures to other passengers arriving in Birmingham on connecting flights.

Officers fully staffed the airport's 'nothing to declare' customs green channel, leading to the discovery of the drugs.

The court also heard how one courier had been instructed to wait for a contact at the airport before leaving.

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."

Kyei and Vitorino were convicted on May 26 following a three-week trial, while Ross and Lloyd changed their pleas to guilty during the proceedings.

Seven other members of the group are due to be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on October 22.

They 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; Paige Crisp, 24, from Broomhall, Worcester; and Tasia Nelson, 22, from Newquay, Cornwall.

Crisp, Nelson and Ramen were convicted on August 19 following a four-week trial, while McCullough, Boachie, Olumoyegun and Clarke had previously pleaded guilty.

NCA senior investigating officer Paul Boniface said: "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."

Adam Chatfield, head of Border Force Midlands Command, said the convictions should serve as a warning to anyone considering bringing cannabis into the country.

"The young people involved now have a serious crime on their records, damaging their job prospects and life chances," he said.

"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."

Victoria Norman, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said investigators and prosecutors had uncovered a highly co-ordinated operation to bring large quantities of drugs into the UK.

"Ultimately, this strong evidence led to six of the group pleading guilty, with the remainder convicted following a trial," she said.

The case comes amid a sharp rise in the number of people caught attempting to smuggle cannabis into the UK by air.

According to the NCA, 801 cannabis smugglers were caught arriving in the UK by plane in 2024, an increase of 464 per cent on the previous year.

That figure rose to 976 in 2025, while 600 air passenger couriers were arrested in the first six months of 2026.

The NCA has recently launched a social media campaign warning young people about the consequences of smuggling cannabis from Thailand to the UK, including the risk of being jailed abroad.

The campaign, which is running across TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube, directs viewers to Crimestoppers for information about the dangers of carrying drugs for criminal gangs and how to report being approached by smugglers anonymously.