British mother, 45, is caught smuggling £500,000 of Thai cannabis into UK after boasting she was ‘on her way home to cut the grass’

A 45-year-old mother from Devon has admitted smuggling more than £500,000 of Thai cannabis into the UK, having been caught by Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport with two suitcases packed with the drug after flying in from Bangkok. Amy Jayne Durban, of Hemyock, Cullompton, was arrested on 6 July as part of a National Crime Agency investigation, and days earlier had posted a cryptic Facebook message boasting she was "on her way home to cut the grass." The case highlights a sharp rise in cannabis smuggling by couriers recruited via social media, with the NCA reporting a 464% increase in arrests of plane-borne cannabis smugglers between 2023 and 2024.

Durban was found with 51.2kg of cannabis, valued at £512,000, and pleaded guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court, where she was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on 14 October. Prosecutors said she acted as a courier motivated by "significant financial reward and hospitality," rejecting a defence claim that she had been pressured and coerced. Judge Karen Holt refused a bail application despite concerns over Durban's mental health, warning the offence could carry a starting point of four years in prison, while the court also heard her brother had separately been arrested over cannabis possession.