Cannabis worth an estimated £13.8 million was intercepted at Birmingham Airport after Border Force officers uncovered an attempt to bring more than 400 kilograms of the drug into the UK from Thailand, with a Nigerian man among 11 people convicted in connection with the operation.
Gideon Oluwasetemi Olumoyegun, 26, from Dagenham, was one of the couriers arrested in August 2024 after authorities seized 22 suitcases containing cannabis. He is due to be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court next month.
The operation came to light after Border Force officers noticed that four passengers had travelled from Birmingham to Charles de Gaulle Airport earlier on August 9, 2024, raising suspicions about a possible connection between the travellers.
Officers responded by fully staffing the Nothing To Declare channel at Birmingham Airport. The subsequent checks led to the discovery of the cannabis, which had been concealed inside the luggage.
The 22 suitcases contained more than 400 kilograms of cannabis in total. Each of the 11 couriers was carrying two bags, with about 20 kilograms of the drug in each person’s luggage.
Some of the suitcases were so heavy that the couriers were required to pay excess baggage charges at Bangkok Airport before the bags could be placed in the aircraft hold. Investigators later found that the cannabis had been vacuum-packed and covered with a thin layer of clothing in an apparent attempt to conceal the contents.
Eight of the suitcases also contained Apple AirTags. Investigators from the National Crime Agency discovered that the trackers were linked to the same Apple ID account, providing another connection between the luggage and the wider operation.
The drugs had been transported from Thailand with Birmingham Airport as the intended UK entry point. The seizure prevented the cannabis from reaching its intended destination and deprived the criminal network behind the shipment of what authorities estimated would have been millions of pounds in illicit proceeds.
Four members of the group have already been sentenced.
Carsten Kyei, 21, from Newham in east London, was jailed for two and a half years after being convicted following a three-week trial.
Bradley Lloyd, 27, from Wythenshawe in Greater Manchester, received a four-year prison sentence. Lewis Ross, 35, from Bolton, Lancashire, was sentenced to two years after pleading guilty, while Nathan Vitorino, 26, from Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, was also convicted following the trial and sentenced to four years.
The remaining seven defendants, including Olumoyegun, are due to be sentenced next month.
They include Paige Crisp, 24, from Malvern, Worcestershire, who was convicted of attempting to carry, remove, deposit, harbour, keep, conceal and deal with Class B drugs with intent to evade the prohibition on importing them.
The other defendants awaiting sentence are Ryan Boachie, 32, from Edmonton in north London; Jamal Clarke, 22, from Walthamstow, London; Claire McCullough, 36, from Wythenshawe; Jaden Ramen, 23, from Colliers Wood in south London; and Tasia Nelson, 22, from Newquay, Cornwall.
All 11 were charged with offences relating to the importation of cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Paul Boniface, senior investigating officer at the National Crime Agency, said the sentences already handed down demonstrated the consequences faced by people recruited to act as drug couriers.
He also criticised the portrayal of drug smuggling as an attractive or profitable lifestyle, saying that social media influencers promoting such an image can overlook the consequences faced by those involved.
Adam Chatfield, head of Border Force Midlands Command, said the convictions should serve as a warning to people considering bringing cannabis into the UK.
He said those involved, many of whom were young, now faced the consequences of serious criminal convictions, including potential damage to their future employment prospects and wider life opportunities.
The case also illustrates how an international drug shipment can be exposed through seemingly separate details, from unusual travel patterns to excessive luggage weights and tracking devices concealed inside suitcases.
For Olumoyegun and the other seven defendants yet to be sentenced, the legal consequences of their involvement will be determined when they return to Birmingham Crown Court next month.
