The number of arrests at airports of people attempting to smuggle cannabis into the UK has tripled, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).

So far this year, 378 people have been arrested and about 15 tons of cannabis have been seized at airports across the country.

In comparison, in the whole of 2023 there were 136 arrests and five tons confiscated.

According to the NCA, this trend is fuelled by organised crime gangs who have access to cannabis grown abroad in places where it is legal.

It was said that the drugs were then often transported by couriers to the UK, where they could make higher profits than if they grew the drugs themselves.

On one day alone earlier this month, eleven British passengers flying from Thailand via Paris Charles de Gaulle were arrested at Birmingham Airport after 510kg of cannabis were found in 28 suitcases.

They were released on bail pending further investigations.

In some cases, officers also found electronic tracking devices among the drugs, which were probably installed by organized crime to track the shipment.

More than half of all those arrested in 2023 flew in from US airports, 24 from Thailand and 24 from Canada.

This year, the same locations are again prominently represented: About half of all arrests (184) involved cannabis originating in Thailand.

More than 70 arrests were made on flights from Canada and 47 on flights from the United States.

The maximum penalty for importing cannabis in the UK is up to 14 years in prison, the NCA warned.

The supplies, weighing between 15 and 40 kilograms, were often found in checked baggage.

In one case, 51-year-old Spanish national Fernando Mayans Fuster was caught at Manchester Airport with eight suitcases containing 158kg of the drug after arriving on a flight from Los Angeles in May.

Organized criminal gangs

This is probably one of the largest passenger seizures of its kind at the airport.

Fuster was sentenced to more than three years in prison at Manchester Crown Court in July.

Commenting on the numerous arrests, James Babbage, the NCA’s Director General for Threats, said it was not always clear whether the “mules” were aware of the possible penalties, but “in most cases they were acting on behalf of organised criminal gangs”.

“And these couriers are at risk of facing a potentially life-changing prison sentence,” he said.

Seema Malhotra, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, added: “Anyone caught bringing cannabis into the UK will face the full force of the law. The Border Agency will continue to work tirelessly with the NCA to keep illegal substances off our streets.”

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