Drug smuggling pals found with 35kg of cannabis in their luggage at UK airport - after saying they'd been on shopping spree in New York

Two glamorous cause mules were caught with much than £160,000 worthy of cannabis concealed successful their suitcases arsenic they landed backmost connected UK ungraded from a travel to New York. 

Sophie Bannister and Levi-April Whalley, some 30, from Blackburn, told borderline officials they had been connected a three-day buying spree successful the Big Apple. 

But erstwhile the brace were stopped astatine Birmingham International Airport connected December 9, 2023, authorities recovered 35kg of the Class B cause hidden successful their luggage.  

Text messages betwixt Bannister and Whalley aboriginal revealed that the brace had go progressive successful a lucrative crippled to import cannabis into the UK. 

Both women initially said they had packed their ain cases and knew it was amerciable to bring drugs into the country.

However erstwhile their luggage was checked, officers recovered 34 sealed packages of cannabis successful Bannister's lawsuit and a further 39 packages successful Whalley's luggage. 

The drugs successful Bannister's suitcase had an estimated thoroughfare worth of £40,500 and Whalley's were estimated astatine £121,500. 

Whalley, a caregiver who has since been suspended from practice, told officials she believed the packages contained watches.

However some women aboriginal pleaded blameworthy to fraudulent evasion of a prohibition and appeared astatine Preston Crown Court contiguous to beryllium sentenced.

The tribunal heard some women were susceptible to exploitation owed to their ain idiosyncratic and fiscal circumstances. 

Since their arrest, neither has committed immoderate different offences and Whalley has go a parent to a young baby, the tribunal heard. 

Judge Richard Archer, sentencing, said: 'You were some alert that having travelled from New York to Birmingham via Paris that you had successful your respective suitcases a important quantity of vigor sealed bags, containing 35.5kg of cannabis.

'This was not your cannabis but cannabis you were carrying connected behalf of different but you were expecting important fiscal vantage for doing what you did. 

'You discussed it successful narration to this peculiar travel to New York, with a wide presumption of the wealth you were going to marque from behaving this way.

'You possibly had small respect to the seriousness oregon consequences of your offending. It indispensable person been successful the backmost of your caput that you would beryllium caught but you astir apt thought precise small astir sitting successful the dock this afternoon.

'I precise overmuch anticipation that you don't impact yourselves successful this behaviour again.'

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

Whalley was handed a 16-month condemnation suspended for 18 months, with 10 days rehabilitation and 80 hours of unpaid work.

Taking to societal media aft walking escaped from the dock, Bannister said: 'Thank you for the radical who person stood by america [during] genuinely the astir mentally and emotionally challenging times of our life. 

'15 months of torture. HUGE lessons learnt. A LOT of tears on the way. But stood by each others broadside nary substance what.

'A existent relationship which volition ne'er beryllium breached which was proven contiguous holding hands not knowing the outcome. 

'Finally immoderate closure and moving guardant with our life. Ready for the biggest caller commencement and realising however important state truly is. Levi Whalley nary substance what radical person said we truly person an unbreakable friendship.'