The defendant travelled to Thailand with hand luggage only. On his return journey, he had two very large suitcases crammed full of cannabis.

The trial, at Birmingham Crown Court, lasting four weeks and involving multiple defendants, revolved around the question as to what the defendants knew about the contents of the suitcases they were carrying. The Court heard in detail about how arrangements were made for eleven passengers, described as “couriers,” to bring the suitcases, containing 20 kilos of cannabis each, from Thailand into Birmingham airport. There were eleven couriers, men and women, smuggling in a total of 22 suitcases.

The cannabis, destined to be sold on the streets of Birmingham and surrounding towns and cities in the West Midlands, would have been sold on for £13.8 million, or £600,000 per suitcase. The organisers of this operation did not just arrange for the eleven couriers to transport the cannabis but also arranged for 6 men to travel alongside them, without any cannabis. These 6 men described as “decoys” had suitcases containing other items such as flour and water bottles and tried their best to cause commotions to distract border agents from noticing the couriers.

The question for the jury to consider was whether the men enjoined in this enterprise knew that their suitcases contained cannabis or whether they genuinely believed they were transporting legal goods such as chocolates, designer clothes, or vapes. The jury were required to watch many hours of airport CCTV footage showing the couriers and the decoys travelling through the baggage hall and the green channel.

On the 21st of September the defendant received a sentence of 2 years and 8 months of which he is expected to serve 40%.

Media coverage: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6j4jpp90w7po