Glam Brit mule mum smuggled medicine into UK in heavy suitcases she paid additional obligation for

A drug mule mum who helped a gang smuggle 460kg of cannabis worth £13.8m from Thailand into the UK in 22 extra-heavy suitcases has been jailed after being caught at Birmingham Airport

A drug mule mum who helped a gang smuggle £13m worth of cannabis into the UK in 22 suitcases has been jailed for more than two years. Paige Crisp was among a group of 11 Brits stopped by Border Force with 460kg worth of drugs found collectively in their luggage.

The 24-year-old, alongside the rest of the gang, had paid extra baggage charges to smuggle the 22 suitcases into the UK. Authorities seized a massive haul of the Class B drug, with a street value of £13.8 million.

Crisp, who is mother to a four-year-old daughter, was sentenced on October 22. She was convicted of attempting to carry, remove, deposit, harbour, keep, conceal and deal with Class B drugs, as well as intent to evade prohibition on importing.

The gang was attempting to smuggle cannabis from Thailand. The group of 11 travelled via Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris – before being arrested at Birmingham Airport on August 9, 2024.

Each member was detained with two large suitcases, holding 20kg of cannabis inside – the bags were so heavy an excess charge was paid at Bangkok Airport to put them in the hold. The National Crime Agency revealed suspicions were raised when four passengers with two large suitcases each travelled from Birmingham to Charles de Gaulle that day.

The luggage had a thin layer of clothing on top of vacuum-packed cannabis, and eight contained Apple AirTag trackers, all connected to the same Apple ID. Crisp, from Malvern, Worcestershire, was part of the final three members to be convicted at Birmingham Crown Court on August 19.

She appeared alongside Tasia Nelson, 22, of Newquay, Cornwall, and Jaden Ramen, 23, of Merton, London. Other members of the 11 have also been convicted. Carsten Kyei, 21, from Plaistow, London and Nathan Vitorino, 26, of Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, were both found guilty during a three-week trial on May 26.

Bradley Lloyd, 27, of Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, and Lewis Ross, 35, of Bolton, Lancashire, changed their plea to guilty during the same trial. Claire McCullough, 36, of Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester; Ryan Boachie, 32, of Edmonton, London; Gideon Oluwasetemi Olumoyegun, 26, of Dagenham, London, and Jamal Clarke, 22, of Mile End, London, all pleaded guilty at a previous hearing.

Crisp was sentenced on October 22 alongside Olumoyegun, who was sentenced to 24 months, Boachie to 24 months, McCullough to 24 months and two months consecutively for assaulting a shop worker and Ramen to 32 months. Paul Boniface, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “These couriers are now facing time in prison and life-altering convictions that put future career and travel prospects in serious peril.

“Their cases should serve as a warning to others that it’s not worth the risk, and the price paid is simply too high. We are grateful to our partners at Border Force who discovered these drugs.

“The NCA will continue to do all we can to stop drugs being smuggled into the UK and deprive criminal groups of profits.”

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