A drug mule mother is facing jail after she helped a gang smuggle £13.8million worth of cannabis into Britain in 22 suitcases after they paid for extra baggage.
Paige Crisp and her accomplices were stopped by Birmingham Airport border with a staggering 460kg of the Class B drug on August 9, 2024.
Each member of the gang was detained with two large suitcases each holding 20kg of cannabis after landing in the UK from Thailand via France.
The bags were so heavy that the gang had to pay an excess charge at Bangkok Airport to store the luggage in the plane’s hold.
Suspicions were first raised by the National Crime Agency when four members of the gang with two large suitcases each travelled from Birmingham to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
The luggage was found to have had a thin layer of clothing on top of vacuum-packed cannabis along with eight Apple AirTag trackers, all connected to the same Apple ID.
Following her arrest, Crisp was convicted of attempting to carry, remove, deposit, harbour, keep, conceal and deal with Class B drugs with intent to evade prohibition on importing on August 19.
The 24-year-old mother from Malvern, Worcestershire, was one of the final three gang members to be convicted at Birmingham Crown Court.
Pictured: Tasia Nelson. Drug mule mum, 24, who helped smuggle £13m worth of cannabis in 22 suitcases
Pictured: all the seized suitcases and extracted cannabis
Pictured: 43 kilos of cannabis seized from Gideon Olumoyegun
She appeared alongside Tasia Nelson, 22, from Newquay, Cornwall, and Jaden Ramen, 23, of Merton, London. The trio are set to be sentenced on October 22.
Carsten Kyei, 21, from Plaistow, London and Nathan Vitorino, 26, of Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, were both found guilty during a three-week trial on May 26.
Bradley Lloyd, 27, from Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, and Lewis Ross, 35, from Bolton, Lancashire, changed their plea to guilty during the same trial in May.
Claire McCullough, 36, from Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester; Ryan Boachie, 32, from Edmonton, London; Gideon Oluwasetemi Olumoyegun, 26, of Dagenham, London, and Jamal Clarke, 22, of Mile End, London, all pleaded guilty at a previous hearing.
Kyei, Vitorino, Boachie, Olumoyegun, Ross, Lloyd, and McCullough are set to be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on September 3.
The mass conviction is the latest in the NCA’s mission to crack down on drug trafficking in the UK.
Paul Boniface, NCA senior investigating officer said: ‘A huge amount of planning went into this sophisticated attempt to bring hundreds of kilos of cannabis into the UK.
‘The detailed coordinated of flights and luggage demonstrates the lengths criminals will go to in order to hide their offending.
Lewis Ross in conversation with Lloyd at Birmingham Airport
Gideon Olumoyegun with suitcases prior to return flight
Carsten Kyei with suitcases prior to return flight
Nathan Vitorino, 26, of Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, was both found guilty during a three-week trial on May 26
Lewis Ross, 35, from Bolton, Lancashire, changed his plea to guilty during the same trial in May
‘With thanks to Border Force, we were able to confiscate these drugs and stop criminals from benefiting financially from the damage they cause.
‘Anyone who is approached to smuggle drugs into the UK should take this as a sign; you will not succeed, and if you try, you will face justice.’
Adam Chatfield, Head of Border Force Midlands Command said: ‘These convictions should be a stark warning to anyone considering bringing cannabis into the UK.
‘The young people involved now face a serious crime on their records, damaging their job prospects and life chances.
‘More than ever, we are working closely with law enforcement partners in the UK and overseas to combat drug smuggling, keep our communities safe and our borders secure.’
Victoria Norman from the Crown Prosecution Service said: ‘Working with investigators, prosecutors pieced together a picture of a highly co-ordinated effort to smuggle industrial quantities of drugs into the country.
‘Ultimately, this strong evidence led to six of the group pleading guilty, with the remainder convicted following a trial.
‘The CPS is committed to working with the NCA to tackle organised crime and ensure that those involved with drug smuggling are brought to justice.’
