Cannabis seizures at UK airports to triple by 2024

London, August 28 (SocialNews.XYZ) The amount of cannabis seized from smugglers at British airports this year is already three times the total for 2023, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Wednesday.

An estimated 15 tonnes of cannabis have been seized this year, compared to around five tonnes in the whole of 2023, according to the NCA. This is also “a staggering increase” on the two tonnes seized in 2022, the agency said.

The trend has been fuelled by organised crime gangs who have access to cannabis grown abroad in places where it is legal, the NCA said. These gangs recruit couriers to transport the drugs to the UK, where they make more profit.

“Illegal drugs are damaging communities and fueling criminal gangs,” said Seema Malhotra, the country’s minister for immigration and citizenship. “We will not tolerate people trying to bring them into our country,” Xinhua news agency reported.

So far this year, 378 people have been arrested in connection with investigations into cannabis smuggling by airline passengers. A total of 196 people have already been convicted and given sentences totaling 188 years.

About half of all arrests this year involved cannabis originating from Thailand, while dozens of others involved cannabis originating from Canada and the United States.

“We would urge anyone who is approached to participate in smuggling to think very carefully about the potential consequences of their actions and the risks they are taking,” said James Babbage, Director General of the NCA’s Threats Division.

The maximum penalty for importing cannabis into the UK is 14 years in prison.

Source: IANS

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