Eleven people including a professional volleyball player have been charged with attempting to smuggle more than 300 kilos of cannabis into the UK through London airports.
The charges follow a crackdown by the National Crime Agency (NCA) on travellers from the US, Canada and Thailand.
The 11 were arrested at Heathrow and Gatwick airports over the weekend after drugs wrapped and stashed in suitcases were seized, the NCA said.
Those detained include Canadians, US citizens, a Malaysian as well as suspects from the UK.
A professional volleyball player from Canada was among those arrested. Raekelle Powell, 22, from Toronto, was stopped after Border Force officers discovered approximately 19 kilos of the drug in suitcases.
The suspects have appeared before magistrates charged with drug offences and have been remanded in custody ahead of crown court dates next month.
The amount of cannabis seized in the UK so far in 2024 is three times more than the whole of 2023.
The NCA says the increase in cannabis smuggling is being fuelled by organised crime gangs who have access to cannabis grown overseas in locations where it is legal.
The gangs are believed to recruiting couriers to transport the drug to the UK where it can generate greater profit for them than growing the drugs themselves.
NCA Branch Commander Andy Noyes said: “The NCA continues to warn people attempting to smuggle huge quantities of cannabis into the country.
“The gangs behind the trafficking of cannabis into the UK do not care that the couriers will likely be arrested and end up in prison – their sole purpose is to make money.
“Anyone who attempts to smuggle drugs into the UK needs to know that you will be identified, you will be arrested and you will spend time in prison.”
A statement added: “The NCA continues to work with law enforcement partners in both the UK and overseas to target high-risk routes, seize shipments of drugs and disrupt the criminal gangs involved, denying them profits.”
Anyone with information on the smuggling of drugs through UK ports is urged to report it, anonymously if they prefer, by calling Border Force’s Customs Hotline on 0800 595 000.
