A Brit mother has been caught smuggling over £500,000 worth of Thai cannabis into the UK inside her suitcases.
Amy Jayne Durban had stuffed her luggage full of 51.2kg of the illegal substance on a flight back home from Thailand.
The 45-year-old’s haul had a street value of around £512,000, as reported by Need To Know.
The mother of Hemyock, Cullompton, Devon, was greeted by border force after arriving back in the UK on 6 Jul.
Durban was the centre of a National Crime Agency investigation and was arrested in Heathrow Airport after jetting in from Bangkok.
After appearing at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court in July, she pleaded guilty to smuggling Class B drugs at Isleworth Crown Court Thursday (6 Aug).
She was remanded into custody and her sentencing is due to take place on 14 Oct.
Just days before her arrest, Amy made a cryptic post on social media.
She said on Facebook: “On her way home to cut the grass if you know what I mean.
“No ETA so you won’t know I’m about to hit your lawn.”
According to the NCA, there has been a rapid rise in drug couriers attempting to smuggle cannabis into the UK.
Brits are usually approached on social media by organised gangs who are offering a ‘free’ holiday and spending money in exchange for being smugglers.
They are tasked with taking the cannabis home where other criminals in the UK will pick them up and move them on.
A jaw dropping 464% increase in cannabis plane smugglers was seen between 2023 and 2024 – jumping from 142 to 801 people being caught.
The figure rose once again in 2025 and 2026 is reportedly on track to be even worse – with 600 passengers arrested in the first six months of the year.
Durban’s conviction comes after NCA and partners in Thailand announced a new crackdown in the country.
Those caught trying to smuggle cannabis now face huge fines, which equate to £680 per kg.
An ‘average’ smuggler is caught in Thailand with 26kg – which would land them with a £17,680 fine.
If not paid, the smuggler faces a two-year jail sentence in a Thai prison.
Mark Abbott, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “There are really bad outcomes at home and abroad when couriers are caught smuggling cannabis.
“As well as time in prison, a life-changing conviction will damage future career and travel prospects.
“People should understand that these crime groups use profits from cannabis smuggling to fund the trafficking of other drugs too.
“All of those drugs fuel wider crime in our communities and have a toxic effect on people’s lives.”
READ MORE: Inside lavish lifestyle of influencer jailed for smuggling £150K of cannabis
