Sunday, October 25, 2026 - A 24-year-old woman has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for her role in an attempt to smuggle cannabis valued at £13.8 million into the UK. Paige Crisp, from Malvern in Worcestershire, was among 11 people caught after travelling from Thailand to Birmingham Airport via Paris.
Border Force officers seized approximately 460 kilogrammes
of cannabis concealed in 22 suitcases. Birmingham Crown Court heard that
suspicions arose when four members of the group arrived from Paris carrying
large suitcases. Officers found vacuum-packed cannabis beneath a thin layer of
clothing.
The luggage also contained eight Apple AirTag trackers
linked to the same Apple ID account. According to the report, the suitcases
were heavy enough to require excess baggage payments at Bangkok Airport. Crisp
was convicted following a trial alongside Tasia Nelson, 22, from Newquay,
Cornwall, and Jaden Ramen, 23, from Merton, London.
Carsten Kyei, 21, from Plaistow, London, and Nathan
Vitorino, 26, from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, had been found guilty at
an earlier trial. Bradley Lloyd, 27, from Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, and
Lewis Ross, 35, from Bolton, changed their pleas to guilty. Claire McCullough,
36, Ryan Boachie, 32, Gideon Oluwasetemi Olumoyegun, 26, and Jamal Clarke, 22,
also pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.
Olumoyegun and Boachie each received 24-month sentences,
while McCullough was jailed for 26 months and Ramen for 32 months. Four other
members of the operation had previously received sentences totalling more than
11 years. Clarke also faces a separate allegation of failing to surrender to
police.
National Crime Agency senior investigating officer Paul
Boniface said the operation involved extensive planning and coordinated travel
arrangements. “The detailed co-ordinated flights and luggage demonstrate the
lengths criminals will go to in order to hide their offending,” he said.
Boniface praised Border Force officers for intercepting the consignment and
preventing those involved from profiting.
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