Noah Barker, 19, of Derby Road in Southampton, was sentenced to three years and eight months at Southampton Crown Court on 4 September. He admitted smuggling Class B drugs and violent disorder.
Barker was arrested by Hampshire Police on 10 July at Heathrow Airport in connection with violent disorder, after flying in from Bangkok. Border Force officers checked his suitcases and asked what was inside.
He replied: “It is cannabis.” A National Crime Agency investigation followed the arrest.
The luggage contained 41 packages of cannabis weighing just over 20kg, with a street value of up to £600,000.
Barker told investigators he was recruited by a crime group on Snapchat and offered a free holiday and payment in exchange for bringing something back. He received no payment.
In interview, Barker, who is unemployed and a cannabis smoker, said he knew the two suitcases he was given to courier to the UK contained either cannabis or cocaine.
He was sentenced to two years and four months for violent disorder and 16 months for smuggling cannabis.
The violent disorder charge relates to a Hampshire Police investigation into disorder in Southampton following the Henry Nowak protests on 2 June this year.
NCA senior investigating officer Mark Abbott said: “Like other cannabis smugglers, Barker was motivated by money. He knew he was doing something illegal and fraught with danger but did it anyway.”
Abbott also warned: “As well as a life-changing criminal conviction, couriers’ future career and travel prospects can be wrecked by smuggling drugs.”
In July, Thai authorities introduced a new fines regime for couriers caught smuggling cannabis from the country. They face fines of around £680 per kilogram of cannabis found.
The “average” smuggler is caught in Thailand with 26kg, which equates to a fine of almost £18,000. If smugglers cannot pay, they face up to two years in a Thai jail.
The NCA has recently launched a social media campaign designed to deter anyone tempted to accept an offer from a crime group to smuggle cannabis.
Abbott said the NCA “will continue to work with partners at Border Force and in Thailand to combat the smuggling of cannabis to the UK.”
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