Inside the lavish lives of the glam drug smuggling pals caught with £160,000 worth of cannabis in their luggage

Two drugs mules who were caught trying to smuggle £160,000 worthy of cannabis into the UK lived a glamorous jet-setting lifestyle, posting pictures of themselves connected holidays successful Thailand, Greece and Spain, MailOnline tin reveal. 

Pals Sophie Bannister and Levi-April Whalley, some 30, from Blackburn, were snared with 35kg of the Class B cause successful their luggage arsenic they returned from a travel to New York successful December 2023. 

The pair, who person some been handed suspended sentences, tried to archer borderline officials astatine Birmingham International Airport they had been on a three-day buying travel to the Big Apple.

However, substance messages betwixt Bannister and Whalley aboriginal revealed they had go progressive successful a lucrative crippled to import cannabis into the UK.

Now, photos posted to both women's societal media accounts anterior to their arrests amusement them enjoying a bid of lavish holidays crossed the globe. 

Bannister and Whalley travelled to New York successful October 2023, 2 months earlier they were caught with the drugs, and shared snaps of themselves visiting tourer sites crossed the city.

In 1 Instagram story, Whalley who was a caregiver but has since been suspended, tin beryllium seen connected a autobus circuit and aboriginal astatine the Statue of Liberty. 

And successful different Bannister is pictured posing with a Starbucks cupful successful the iconic Times Square.

Other glamorous vacation snaps amusement the friends connected trips distant to places specified arsenic Marbella, Thailand and Greece successful 2023. 

In one, Whalley is posing successful a greenish bikini connected a vessel disconnected Pi Pi Island and successful a 2nd Bannister tin beryllium seen extracurricular a edifice connected the Spanish enactment land of Ibiza.

Bannister and Whalley appeared astatine Preston Crown Court yesterday to beryllium sentenced for cause smuggling.  

The tribunal heard that erstwhile their luggage was checked arsenic they returned from New York connected December 9, 2023, officers recovered much than 70 sealed packages of cannabis. 

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

The proceeding was told that 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.

Bannister and Whalley later pleaded blameworthy to fraudulent evasion of a prohibition and appeared astatine Preston Crown Court contiguous to beryllium sentenced.

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.'