Four jailed in UK over £13.8m international cannabis smuggling plot

Four members of an international drugs gang have been sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court following an investigation into an attempt to smuggle cannabis worth an estimated £13.8m into the UK. The case was investigated by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

The drugs were discovered by Border Force officers at Birmingham Airport in August 2024, hidden beneath clothing in 22 suitcases that had travelled from Thailand via Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Each courier carried two cases containing roughly 20kg of vacuum-packed cannabis, totalling 460kg. Investigators found that travellers had paid excess baggage fees in Bangkok due to the weight of their luggage, and that eight of the suitcases contained Apple AirTags all linked to a single Apple ID account.

Following a three-week trial, Carsten Kyei, 21, of Newham, and Nathan Vitorino, 26, of Welwyn Garden City, were found guilty and each sentenced to two years and eight months in prison. Lewis Ross, 35, of Bolton, and Bradley Lloyd, 27, of Wythenshawe, changed their pleas to guilty during the trial — Ross received the same sentence as Kyei and Vitorino, while Lloyd was jailed for four years.

Three further defendants were convicted of the same charge in August, while four others had already pleaded guilty at earlier hearings. The remaining members of the group are due to be sentenced at the same court on 22 October.

An NCA senior investigating officer said the sentences showed drug couriers could pay a high price for their crimes, while a Border Force official said the convictions should serve as a warning, noting the young people involved now carry a serious criminal record that will affect their future job and life prospects.