Four members of a drugs smuggling gang have been sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court for their roles in a plot to import cannabis worth £13.8m through Birmingham Airport. The National Crime Agency (NCA) investigated the group after Border Force officers arrested them in August 2024.
The Class B drugs were discovered packed into 22 suitcases, each containing 20 kilos of cannabis, amounting to 460 kilos in total. The couriers had arrived into the UK on the same flights from Thailand via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.
How the smuggling operation was uncovered
According to the NCA, the couriers were forced to pay an excess charge at Bangkok Airport to place the suitcases in the hold because they were so heavy. Each suitcase had a thin layer of clothing above the vacuum-packed cannabis, and eight contained Apple Air Tag trackers. NCA investigators identified that these trackers were connected to the same Apple ID account.
Suspicions were raised when Border Force linked the seizures to other travellers using connecting flights into Birmingham, prompting them to fully staff the ‘nothing to declare’ customs green channel. This resulted in the cannabis being found, the NCA said.
Sentences handed down at Birmingham Crown Court
Carsten Kyei, 21, from Newham, East London; Bradley Lloyd, 27, from Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester; Lewis Ross, 35, from Bolton, Lancashire; and Nathan Vitorino, 26, from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire were each sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday, September 21.
Kyei and Vitorino were previously convicted in May following a three-week trial, while Ross and Lloyd changed their pleas to guilty during that trial. Lloyd was sentenced to four years imprisonment, Vitorino and Ross to two years and eight months imprisonment, and Kyei to two-and-a-half years imprisonment.
Further sentencing due in October
In total, 11 people were charged with attempting to carry, remove, deposit, harbour, keep, conceal and deal with Class B drugs with intent to evade prohibition on importing. Seven more individuals are due to be sentenced at the same court on October 22.
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, are due to be sentenced on that date. Crisp, Nelson and Ramen were convicted on 19 August following a four-week trial, while McCullough, Boachie, Olumoyegun and Clarke all pleaded guilty at previous hearings.
One courier was told: “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.”
NCA and Border Force warnings
Speaking after the case, 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, added: “These convictions should be a stark warning to anyone considering bringing cannabis into the UK. The young people involved now have a serious crime on their records, damaging their job prospects and life chances. 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.”
