Two US Men Caught Smuggling £400,000 of Cannabis at Heathrow
Two American men have been nailed by the National Crime Agency (NCA) trying to smuggle huge amounts of cannabis into the UK through Heathrow Airport.
£400k Worth of Herbal Cannabis Seized at Terminal 3
Massa Momolu Talery, 32, from Pennsylvania, was stopped at Terminal 3 on February 4. He told border officers he was on a two-week holiday. But officers found 20 kilos of herbal cannabis worth around £400,000 in his bags.
Talery admitted importing Class B drugs and claimed he did it to pay off debts. On March 9, Isleworth Crown Court sentenced him to eight months behind bars.
Second US Man Busted with 27 Kilos of Cannabis
The very next day, 26-year-old Gerard Jean-Leger from Massachusetts received a ten-month sentence at the same court. He was caught on January 19 trying to smuggle 27 kilos of cannabis in checked luggage on a flight from Los Angeles.
NCA Warns: Drug Smuggling Trips End in Jail
“Organised crime gangs need couriers like Talery and Jean-Leger to bring their illicit substances into the UK. Couriers are often recruited with promises of payment or free holidays,” said NCA Heathrow Branch Commander Andy Noyes.
“But these attempts just end in jail sentences. I’d urge anyone considering smuggling cannabis into the UK, whether from the US or elsewhere, to think twice. It isn’t worth the risk.
The NCA and Border Force are on high alert, targeting drug smugglers and doing all we can to disrupt these gangs.”
Since the start of 2023, the NCA has arrested over 25 US nationals at UK airports for drug smuggling offences. So far, eight have been jailed.
