Four men have been sentenced over a failed cannabis importation attempt worth £13.8 million into the UK via Birmingham Airport. The National Crime Agency investigated the group, and they were arrested by Border Force officers in August 2024. Class B drugs were found packed into 22 suitcases. The couriers had travelled to the UK on the same flights from Thailand via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. The court heard that each courier carried two suitcases, each containing 20 kilos of cannabis, amounting to 460 kilos in total. Investigators said the suitcases had a thin layer of clothing above vacuum-packed cannabis. Eight suitcases contained Apple AirTag trackers, which were linked to the same Apple ID account. Border Force became suspicious after connecting the seizures to other travellers using connecting flights into Birmingham. Officers then fully staffed the ‘nothing to declare’ customs green channel, which led to the cannabis being discovered. One courier was recorded being told: “my man gonna be on the other side – don’t leave the airport until you see him leave. Even if your bags are there just let them go round on the belt, go toilet etc. etc.” At Birmingham Crown Court, Carsten Kyei and Nathan Vitorino were convicted on 26 May 2026 following a three-week trial, while Lewis Ross and Bradley Lloyd changed their pleas to guilty during that trial. Crisp, Tasia Nelson and Jaden Ramen were convicted on 19 August after a four-week trial. Lloyd was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. Vitorino and Ross received two years and eight months. Kyei was sentenced to two-and-a-half years. Other members of the group—Gideon Oluwasetemi Olumoyegun, Ryan Boachie, Jamal Clarke, Claire McCullough, Paige Crisp, Jaden Ramen and Tasia Nelson—were due to be sentenced at the same court on 22 October. NCA senior investigating officer Paul Boniface said the case shows drugs couriers can end up paying a “high price” for smuggling cannabis to the UK, adding that the operation deprived a criminal network of significant profits. Border Force and the Crown Prosecution Service also highlighted the organised nature of the plot and the convictions and sentencing outcomes.