A cannabis smuggling operation attempting to import £13.8 million worth of the drug into the UK via Birmingham Airport has been dismantled, with four gang members jailed and seven more awaiting sentencing. The plot was exposed after couriers were forced to pay excess baggage charges at Bangkok Airport for overweight suitcases containing the drugs, and Border Force officials grew suspicious when multiple passengers travelled from Birmingham to Paris on the same day.

Officers discovered over 400 kilograms of cannabis across 22 suitcases, each concealed beneath a thin layer of clothing with eight containing Apple Air Tag trackers all linked to the same account. Four members received sentences of between two and four years at Birmingham Crown Court; Carsten Kyei and Nathan Vitorino were convicted following trial, whilst Lewis Ross and Bradley Lloyd pleaded guilty. The sentencing reflects a sharp rise in cannabis smuggling attempts; 801 smugglers were caught arriving by plane in 2024 – a 464 per cent increase on 2023 – with 976 apprehended in 2025.