AN American woman was arrested at a Scottish airport following a large cannabis seizure, police have said.
Isabella Carrasco, 20, was arrested at Edinburgh Airport on Wednesday, February 22, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
It comes amid a spate of arrests after the conviction of three Americans in the UK who were caught smuggling cannabis into the country at Heathrow Airport.
Carrasco arrived in Edinburgh on a flight from Los Angeles, California on her way to London.
She has been charged and is due to appear before Edinburgh Sheriff Court next week.
It comes after Barrington Walters, 24, from Los Angeles, and 34-year-old Mandy Silowka from Princeton, New Jersey, were jailed at Islesworth Crown Court on Thursday after admitting to smuggling cannabis into the country.
Border Force officers found 33 kilos of herbal cannabis in bags belonging to Walters, and a further 26.5 kilos in suitcases checked in by Silowka after they arrived in London on a United Airlines flight from LA on January 17.
Silowka (above) was jailed for one year and Walters for 10 months.
Meanwhile in a hearing at the same court on Friday, Kiara Lanee Malone, 31, from St Louis, Missouri, pleaded guilty to importing class B drugs.
The clothing boutique owner was arrested on January 10, also having arrived from Los Angeles. Officers found 27.5 kilos of cannabis in her luggage.
Malone (below) told NCA officers that she was travelling to the UK to have cosmetic procedures, and while she had been given the bags to bring to the UK by someone else, she believed they contained clothes rather than drugs.
She was remanded in custody to be sentenced on April 5.
NCA Heathrow Branch Commander Andy Noyes said: “These cases serve as further warnings to those who think they can get away with smuggling drugs into the UK.
“No matter what you might get told by those organising these trips, you will get caught, and as these individuals will tell you, you will face jail time.
“The NCA and our partners in Border Force are determined to do all we can to target drugs couriers, and disrupt the international organised crime groups involved in drug trafficking.”
The NCA said US nationals were smuggling cannabis grown legally in the States and selling it on in Britain for a “premium price”.
