Glam Levi-April Whalley, 31, and her friend Sophie Bannister were caught attempting to smuggle over 35kg of cannabis – now Whalley wants to warn others about the dangers of drugs
A disgraced NHS nurse who was jailed after trying to smuggle cannabis says she wants to go into schools to teach kids about the dangers of drugs.
Glam Levi-April Whalley, 31, and her friend Sophie Bannister, 30, were caught attempting to smuggle over 35kg of cannabis into the UK. They received suspended sentences after they went to New York for a “shopping trip”, but came back with cannabis worth £160,000.
When 70 heat-sealed packages were discovered hidden in the luggage at Birmingham Airport, Whalley desperately claimed the parcels contained watches. The pair believed they were simply moving jewellery across the border.
Now, Whalley has said that after having a baby daughter five months ago, she understands the problems with drug smuggling.
“I’d really like to open people’s eyes up and say always think twice about every opportunity that’s offered to you, because it’s not always the route that you should go down,” she told the Mail Online, adding she wants to go into schools and try and “change people”.
Speaking to The Mirror about how they got entangled in a cannabis smuggling ring, they claim it all began with a single social media message from a girl Sophie met in Marbella.
At the time, Sophie was trying to clear debts from her time in Dubai, while Levi sought a break from “personal issues” back home.
“You just enjoy the holiday and don’t really have to think about what you were actually doing,” Levi added.
Both friends maintained that they were not “fully aware” of what filled their case to the brim, yet the judge said: “You were both aware that, having travelled from New York to Birmingham via Paris, you had in your respective suitcases a significant quantity of heat-sealed bags containing 35.5kg of cannabis.”
“She asked if we wanted to travel to New York around Christmas. All we had to do was bring some watches back,” Sophie said.
Whalley said she now wants a good life for her daughter and hopes people will avoid being lured into carrying out acts for gangs. She and Bannister, both from Blackburn, have since said they have said they were groomed by gangs.They have both posted racy snaps to promote their newest career venture – adult entertainment. They have been sharing their lives on the popular adult site Only Fans.
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