Man caught with suitcase full of cannabis at Birmingham New Street station

A man caught wheeling a suitcase packed full of cannabis has been jailed for two years and seven months.

He was stopped by plain clothes officers from the British Transport Police’as he strolled through Birmingham New Street station in May 2022.

On the morning of 11 May 2022, Mahn Van Phan entered the Birmingham station and purchased a rail ticket to Aberdeen with cash.

BTP then received a text report stating Phan was acting suspiciously, and plain clothes officers attended the station and located him on one of the platforms.

Following a brief conversation, his luggage was searched, and officers discovered vacuum-packed bags of cannabis in his suitcase and rucksack.

The total weight of the cannabis Phan was taking to Aberdeen was 7.4kg.

Phan, 41, and of Sylvan Road, London, pleaded guilty to possession of a Class B substance with intent to supply. He was sentenced to two years and seven months imprisonment by a judge at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday 6 January.

What has the BTP said about the incident?

Detective Constable Mohit Behl, investigating officer in the case, said: “This was a particularly brazen attempt to move drugs across the UK using the rail network.

“We deploy specialist units, including plain clothes officers and drugs dogs, on the railway every day to tackle county lines activity. Anyone attempting to move commodities on the railway in this manner is extremely naïve – we will catch you and bring you to justice.

“I would like to thank rail staff at Birmingham New Street that day who reported Phan, and the courts for handing down an adequately strong jail term.