Drug-smuggling friends who avoided jail despite being caught with suitcase full of cannabis after New York holiday insist: 'We have NOT got away Scot free!'

Two cause mules caught attempting to smuggle implicit 35kg of cannabis into the UK person warned that traffickers are targeting women whose glamorous societal media profiles conceal however their globe-trotting manner is beyond their means.

In their archetypal relationship of what happened, Levi-April Whalley, present 31, and Sophie Bannister, 30, admitted making a ‘stupid’ determination - but blamed their downfall connected being ‘groomed’ by planetary criminals.

And aft walking escaped from tribunal with suspended sentences they told the Daily Mail that portion it mightiness look they escaped ‘scot-free’, their lives had been ‘ruined’.

Shamed ex-nurse Whalley – who present faces being struck disconnected - and her boarding schoolhouse educated person proceed to importune they thought the cases contained watches.

But they admit that they felt ‘panicky’ astir what mightiness truly beryllium wrong arsenic they flew location – saying they were successful ‘far excessively heavy to crook around’.

The brace were arrested connected accomplishment astatine Birmingham International Airport pursuing a three-day pre-Christmas buying travel to New York successful 2023 erstwhile the incriminating packages were recovered successful their luggage.

The ‘true friends’ sobbed and held hands successful the dock this week arsenic a justice imposed suspended situation sentences aft being told neither of them had been successful occupation since then.

The brace – some primitively from Blackburn, Lancashire - person astir 60,000 followers connected Instagram, and until their apprehension regularly posted astir enjoying formation holidays astir the world.

A pistillate whom Bannister had met successful Marbella contacted her implicit Instagram offering them £2,000 each to bring what they thought were watches and jewellery backmost from New York, they allege.

Whalley told the Mail the connection was ‘you tin spell connected vacation for escaped and spell shopping, and past astatine the extremity of it you brought immoderate suitcases back, but you didn't person to deliberation astir it until the time that you really came back’.

‘It’s thing I’ve ever wanted, to spell to New York, since I was a small girl. I thought “Oh, let’s bash it”, but not reasoning astir the existent consequences.’

As a result, they ‘very stupidly’ agreed.

Whalley – who has since had a babe - said they were told to ‘go and bask your holiday’ and that astatine the extremity of it they would person to bring the watches backmost with them.

However aft being handed her lawsuit and checking onto their formation to Birmingham via Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport connected December 9, 2023, Bannister said they felt ‘a spot anxious’.

‘I wasn’t 100 per cent what was successful it to beryllium honest,’ she said.

‘I conscionable started to get a spot panicky.’

Whalley said it was lone astatine the extremity of the interruption that ‘reality hit’ – but claimed they felt they had nary prime but to smuggle the cases owed to being ‘threatened’.

‘We had an perfectly astonishing clip successful New York.

‘Then connected the past time erstwhile we had to get these cases backmost it was like, “S***, what are we really doing?”

‘But we felt similar we were already successful acold excessively heavy to crook astir astatine that point.’

They were stopped by Customs officers aft picking up the locked cases – for which they didn’t person keys - from the carousel astatine Birmingham airport.

‘He asked america if we’d packed our cases ourselves,’ said Bannister.

‘Levi said “Yes” astatine first, but erstwhile helium asked america to unfastened it we said “No.”

‘And past erstwhile helium opened it, we recovered what was inside.’

Bannister's lawsuit was packed with 34 vigor sealed packages containing 16.5kg of cannabis with an estimated thoroughfare worth of £40,500, Preston Crown Court heard this week.

A further 39 packages containing 19kg of cannabis were successful Whalley's lawsuit worthy an estimated £121,500.

Continuing to importune she had nary thought of the contents, Bannister told the Mail she was ‘absolutely heartbroken and gobsmacked’.

‘We thought that’s it, our lives are over.’The friends spent much than 24 hours successful constabulary custody – during which clip Bannister said she was hospitalised owed to a terrible panic onslaught – earlier being released connected bail.

Both importune they were ‘groomed’ arsenic a effect of their societal media profiles – and reason they were susceptible to exploitation owed to coming retired of hard relationships and – successful Bannister’s lawsuit - debt.

Whalley told the Mail that astatine the clip she had wanted to ‘escape myself’.

‘I thought “Yeah, wherefore not”, not truly reasoning overmuch astir the consequences.’

Whalley believes traffickers people women similar her connected societal media starring a ‘certain lifestyle’, sucking them successful with the connection of a ‘free holiday’.

‘They attack the benignant of susceptible radical due to the fact that adjacent though they mightiness person truthful galore followers connected Instagram they're not arsenic assured arsenic they whitethorn seem.

‘They’ve evidently seen that we were travelling a lot.’

She insists that her absorption to the connection contiguous arsenic a mother-of-one would person been ‘absolutely not’.

‘So it conscionable it proves that that we had immoderate vulnerability, that we took that hazard and opportunity.’

Whalley mislaid her occupation arsenic an big caregiver aft informing her leader of her arrest.

She present faces being struck disconnected by the Nursing and Midwifery Council – she is presently nether an interim suspension.

Whalley is present juggling moving a quality concern with being a azygous mother.

Bannister – who attended £15,000-a-year Kirkham Grammar School – utilized to tally a covering marque successful Dubai but is present surviving with friends successful Manchester pursuing her arrest.

‘It's caused a batch of upset and hurt,’ she said.

‘My household each fell retired with me. It’s not been easy.’

The brace person been bombarded with ‘harsh’ messages astir their crimes since their sentencing this week.

‘We’re being treated arsenic if we’ve murdered someone,’ said Whalley, whose parent died past week.

‘It’s disgusting, I’ve got a babe present and I’m being trolled.

‘What I truly don’t similar is radical saying I’ve had a babe to debar maine going to jail. That simply wasn't the case.

‘I'm ashamed for my family, I’ve got to unrecorded with that for the remainder of my life.

‘But the things that radical are saying, that doesn’t spell distant either. We've made a mistake and we’re truly atrocious for that.

‘And you're paying for it, not conscionable successful the presumption of the suspended sentence.

‘Everything is antithetic present and I bash I look backmost and I deliberation I privation I didn't bash that.

‘At the extremity of the time we chose that way and we've got to wage the price.’

‘We’ve some said we’re ashamed,’ Bannister added. 

'I privation we'd made amended decisions, to beryllium honest.’

And portion their Instagram feeds proceed to beryllium packed with images of partying and nights out, some importune that doesn’t mean they person nary regrets.

‘Just due to the fact that you’re smiling connected a representation it tin clasp a batch of pain,’ said Whalley.

‘A grin tin fell 1,000 tears.

‘Just due to the fact that we've posted connected Instagram ever since doesn’t mean we’re ok, we're inactive trying to rebuild our lives.’

The suspended sentences imposed connected some friends by the justice person sparked outrage – the maximum punishment for cannabis importation to the UK is 14 years successful prison.

Both women said they attended tribunal with bags packed successful mentation for perchance being jailed.

‘We were mentally already prepared for the worst,’ said Whalley.

‘I had childcare for my daughter, things successful spot - I haven't gone successful determination reasoning I’m going to get disconnected with this.’

Whalley said her beingness had been ‘ruined’ by their mistake.

‘I had an astonishing vocation successful the NHS and I’m paying yet the terms for that. So that's the biggest cost.

‘I don’t deliberation we should get distant with it scot-free astatine each and I recognize it looks similar we benignant of have.

‘But we've lived with this for 15 months.

‘I’ve had to crook my beingness astir since. It’s not been easy. I've trained each my beingness to beryllium a nurse.

‘Just due to the fact that we've not got prison, it doesn’t mean it’s not scarred us.’

Both women pleaded blameworthy to fraudulent evasion of a prohibition connected the importation of a people B drug.

On Wednesday astatine Preston Crown Court Judge Richard Archer gave Whalley a 16-month condemnation suspended for 18 months, with 10 days rehabilitation and 80 hours of unpaid work.

Bannister was sentenced to 20 months suspended for 18 months with 30 days rehabilitation activities and 200 hours of unpaid work.