- Amy Jayne Durban, a 45-year-old mother from Devon, has been jailed for 25 months after smuggling £500,000 worth of cannabis into Heathrow Airport from Thailand.
- Durban was arrested in July after Border Force officers discovered 51.2kg of the Class B drug packed inside her luggage following a flight from Bangkok.
- Her sentencing comes amid a dramatic surge in drug couriers, with cannabis smuggling arrests at UK airports rising from 142 in 2023 to nearly 1,000 in 2025.
- The National Crime Agency warned that organised crime groups are using social media to recruit people with offers of free holidays and spending money.
- Authorities in the UK and Thailand have launched a joint crackdown, warning that smugglers face heavy financial penalties, foreign imprisonment, and damaged life prospects.
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