Amount of cannabis seized at UK airports triples

The stashes were often found in checked-in luggage

The amount of cannabis found at UK airports has tripled since last year, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said

So far this year, police have seized about 15 tonnes of cannabis, often from passengers' suitcases, and made 378 arrests.

That compares with five tonnes and 136 arrests throughout the whole of 2023.

The NCA has said the trend is being fuelled by organised crime gangs who have access to cannabis grown overseas in locations where it is legal.

It said the drugs were then often transported by couriers to the UK where it could generate greater profit for them than growing the drugs themselves.

On one day alone earlier this month, 11 British passengers flying from Thailand, via Paris Charles de Gaulle, were arrested at Birmingham Airport after 510kg of cannabis was found inside 28 suitcases.

They have been bailed until 9 November, pending further inquiries.

Officers also found electronic trackers with the drugs in some cases, believed to have been placed by organised criminals to follow the loads.

Fernando Fuster was jailed in July after 158kg of cannabis was found in suitcases

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

The same locations are prominent again this year, with about half of all arrests (184) relating to cannabis originating in Thailand.

More than 70 arrests were on flights from Canada, and 47 from the US.

The maximum sentence for bringing cannabis into the UK is up to 14 years in prison, the NCA has warned.

The stashes, weighing between 15kg and 40kg, were often found in checked-in luggage.

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

Organised criminal gangs

This is believed to be one of the largest passenger seizures of its kind at the airport.

Fuster was jailed for more than three years at Manchester Crown Court in July.

Speaking about the wider arrests, NCA Director General of Threats James Babbage said it was not always clear if the "mules" understood what the potential penalties would be, but "in most cases they were operating on behalf of organised criminal gangs".

"And it is those couriers who are running the risk of a potentially life-changing prison sentence," he said.

Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Seema Malhotra added: "Anyone caught bringing cannabis to the UK will face the full force of the law, and Border Force will continue to work relentlessly alongside the NCA to keep illegal substances off our streets."