Two men guilty of cocaine smuggling plot into UK

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National Crime Agency Scott Johnston and Michael May were among seven conspirators planning to smuggle the drugs in through Cornwall

Two men have been convicted of attempting to smuggle hundreds of kilos of cocaine with an estimated street value of nearly £20m into the UK. Scott Johnston, 37, from Havant, Hampshire, and Michael May, 47, from Kelveden Hatch, Essex, were both found guilty of conspiracy to import Class A drugs following a two-week trial. A judge at Truro Crown Court told them they both faced long jail sentences. Five other men have previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle the drugs into Cornwall. All seven are due to be sentenced in August.

National Crime Agency Bales of drugs were dumped in the sea

Prosecutor Frederick Hookway told the jury that the drugs were secreted aboard a cargo ship sailing from South America and then off loaded into the English Channel. “On the way the drugs are off loaded into the sea.” he said. “That may sound rather silly for a valuable commodity,” he said, but he explained that black watertight bales of drugs were fitted with a GPS tracking device attached to air tag trackers so that they could be located by a second smaller boat to take to the Cornish coast. Mr Hookway said a Border Force boat spotted a fast-moving rigid inflatable boat (RIB) in the sea off Cornwall one morning in September last year. The Border Force vessel deployed its own RIB to intercept the target RIB which had three men in it. The court was told the target RIB sped off towards land, then dumped drug bales into the sea so the men on board would not be found in possession of their illegal cargo.

The target boat landed at Gwyner Beach at Sennen and the men ran off in all directions but were arrested on the beach. Johnston was one of three men on board the RIB and was also found to have £2,615 in cash on him, the court heard. The other two on the RIB previously admitted drugs-related charges. Mr Hookway said May was arrested in a van on the Cornish coast and was to transport the unloaded drugs.

Mr Hookway said six bundles thrown into the sea were recovered that day and they contained 230 blocks of high purity cocaine, each weighing 1kg (2.2lb), and with a wholesale value of £6.2m, and a street value of £18.4m. Mr Hookway said at least 150kg (330lb) of cocaine were not recovered from the water. May did not give evidence and Johnston said he had no prior knowledge of the smuggling operation in the RIB and was not paid any money for going on the trip. The jury unanimously found the two men guilty. They have been remanded in custody and all the conspirators are due to be sentenced on 1 August.

Two guilty of smuggling cannabis as Yankee Candles

11 June 2025 Share Save Jordan Davies BBC News Reporting from Newport Crown Court Share Save

Getty Images The cannabis seized had a street value of to £11m

Two men have been found guilty of being part of an organised crime group, and smuggling more than 300kg of cannabis labelled as “Yankee Candles” from the US to south Wales using the postal service. Sean Montgomery, 24, and Steven Munroe, 44, from Cardiff, were charged with conspiracy to import and supply class B drugs. Mohammed Nurul Hussain, 28, and Abdu Huriara Husain, 28, from Cardiff changed their plea earlier in their trial, admitting importing the drugs, having already admitted to supplying them. The four will be sentenced on 10 and 11 September along with seven others who pleaded guilty to their part earlier this year.

Jurors were told the drugs seized had a street value of up to £11m with prosecutor Roger Griffiths saying it was “drug dealing on an industrial scale”. The court was played videos of a “stash house” on Ninian Park Road, Cardiff, where the drugs were stored. The videos were recovered from the phone of Abubakr Khawar – who admitted charges against him in March – after his arrest. Jurors were told he was the head of the organised crime group. The cannabis was in bright blue “multi-coloured” packages with labels such as, “Zour Candies”, and “Cali weed”, which jurors were told reflected the strain of cannabis. Det Con Sean Meyrick said they were “typical designer bags that cannabis is generally placed inside”. The cannabis arrived through British airports, including Birmingham, Heathrow and Stansted. Jurors at Newport Crown Court were told packages were mainly posted from California and New Jersey, but also Colorado and Ohio.

South Wales Police Sean Montgomery, Steven Munroe, Mohammed Nurul Hussain and Abdu Huriara Husain were found guilty of smuggling cannabis labelled as “Yankee Candles”

The court was read messages between Abubakr Khawar, from Cardiff, and the cannabis supplier in the US, known only as “Adam Z”. Det Con Meyrick described them as the “two main players in the organised crime group”. Jurors heard the conversation revealed their concern at parcels containing cannabis destined for Hood Road in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, being intercepted at a Royal Mail depot in the town. The court heard some of the cannabis packages found in the depot were labelled as “Yankee Candles”. Adam Z sent a message saying: “We about to lose everything that’s going to Hood. “£60k minimum, I can’t afford those Ls.” Jurors were told this was a reference to a £60,000 loss for the organised crime group. He said: “Bro we just can’t sit here and lose parcels for fun man, it’s turning into a joke. “Those Hood ones need to be sorted even if you’ve got to give the guy at the front desk 5k,” which jurors were told was a reference to the organised crime group suggesting paying £5,000 to a Royal Mail employee to get the packages back.

Getty Images Bags of vacuum packed cannabis were found by postal workers at a Royal Mail sorting office

Montgomery was accused of trying to collect three parcels from the Barry sorting office on 26 October, but was refused collection because the “address did not exist”. Jurors were told police were called because “similar packages had arrived from the US” that were believed to be “suspicious”. The court was told police officer Patrick Levy went to the Royal Mail depot in Barry to view the suspicious packages. He said there were 14 packages “with Yankee Candles inside”, but was told “they were too light to be candles” and the addresses did not match the postcodes. Jurors were told Munroe agreed to five cannabis packages being delivered to his home address in Splott, Cardiff, but they were intercepted by the UK border force. Munroe said he agreed with his neighbour, Sophie Jones, to allow one parcel to be delivered to his home, but said he “didn’t have a clue” what was inside the parcel. Munroe said he only became suspicious after Ms Jones paid him £50 after taking delivery of the parcel. He said he had also become suspicious of his neighbour because her lifestyle had changed, and she was “buying more things than usual”. The court heard he sent a text message to her saying “you are getting money for taking in dodgy parcels”. She replied: “I haven’t taken in any more parcels than you.” The court heard in another text message he had threatened to “grass her up” and she said she would “let the boys know”. Munroe said he felt scared by the threat.

South Wales Police Kyle Solowyk, Daniel Marshall and Abubakr Khawar had all previously pleaded guilty to three charges

The prosecution claimed he “knew about the bigger operation and parcels coming in from America”. Jurors were told Hussain was arrested at his home in Ninian Park Road, Cardiff where police found a packet of cannabis, money, a phone, and empty cannabis packages in a car, which had previously been identified by a postal worker. A list totalling 343 parcels was read to the court, they contained between 100g and 2.5kg of cannabis and were destined for 80 different addresses across south Wales. However, the parcels were intercepted by UK border force agents. The court heard the 329kg of drugs seized had a street value of between £7m – £11m.

South Wales Police Sophie Jones, Andrew Pethers, Ceiron Jones and Solomon Bertram had all previously pleaded guilty to three charges

Thai PM faces calls to quit after leaked phone call

7 days ago Share Save Koh Ewe BBC News Share Save

Getty Images Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s coalition is now left with a slim majority in parliament

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s coalition government is on the brink of collapse after a phone call between her and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen about a festering border dispute was leaked. The leak provoked public anger and prompted a key coalition partner of the 38-year-old Paetongtarn’s Peu Thai party to quit. In the call, she addressed Hun Sen, a family friend and senior politician in the South East Asian region, as “uncle” and appeared to dismiss a Thai military commander. “I would like to apologise for the leaked audio of my conversation with a Cambodian leader which has caused public resentment,” Paetongtarn said on Thursday, as the pressure on her intensified.

Bhumjaithai, the second-largest party in Paetongtarn’s ruling coalition, quit the alliance on Wednesday, dealing a major blow to her party’s position in parliament. Her coalition now holds a slim majority – which will be lost if more of its partners decide to leave. Two other coalition partners will meet later on Thursday to discuss the situation. Critics took issue with the PM’s apparent deference to Hun Sen when she addressed him as “uncle” and promised to “take care” of his needs. They also accused her of undermining the country’s politically influential army. She had told Hun Sen in the call that a Thai military commander handling the most recent flare-up of border tensions “just wanted to look cool and said things that are not useful”. The Shinawatras’ friendship with Cambodia’s Hun family goes back decades. Hun Sen and Paetongtarn’s father, former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, consider each other “godbrothers”. The Thai leader defended the call as a “negotiation technique” but opposition figures have called on her to resign. Hun Sen said he had shared the audio clip with 80 politicians and one of them leaked it. He later shared the entire 17-minute recording on his Facebook page. Paetongtarn is just 10 months into the job. She took over as prime minister last August, after her predecessor Srettha Thavisin was removed by the country’s constitutional court for violating a rule on cabinet appointments. She is the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, the deposed former PM who returned to Thailand last August after 15 years in exile. She is also the youngest prime minister in Thailand’s history, and only the second woman – the first was her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra.

‘Deeply disappointed’ with leak

Dealer of ‘dangerous’ synthetic opioid jailed

Brian Hollywood was jailed for 11 years at York Crown Court on Tuesday

A North Yorkshire drug dealer has been jailed for 11 years for attempting to distribute a potentially fatal synthetic opioid.

Drugs seized by police from Brian Hollywood, 30, in January were initially thought to be class C Xanax, however further tests discovered they were class A nitazenes.

Hollywood, of Spring Bank, Scarborough, previously admitted three counts of possession with intent to supply a class A drug and was jailed at York Crown Court on Tuesday.

Det Insp Amber Carey, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “The risk that nitazenes pose is significant and Hollywood demonstrated he has no regard for the potential devastation he could cause when supplying such dangerous substances.”

Thailand’s ‘weed wild west’ faces new rules as smuggling to UK rises

7 hours ago Share Save Jonathan Head South East Asia correspondent Reporting from Bangkok Share Save

Reuters Since Thailand decriminalised cannabis in 2022, shops selling the drug have popped up across the country

Thailand is trying to rein in its free-wheeling marijuana market. The government has approved new measures, which will soon restrict consumption of the drug to those with a doctor’s prescription – in the hope that this will help regulate an industry some describe as out of control. The public health minister has also said that consumption of marijuana will be criminalised again, although it’s unclear when that could happen. Ever since the drug was decriminalised in 2022, there has been a frenzy of investment. There are now around 11,000 registered cannabis dispensaries in Thailand. In parts of the capital Bangkok it is impossible to escape the lurid green glare of their neon signs and the constant smell of people smoking their products. In the famous backpacker district of Khao San Road, in the historic royal quarter, there is an entire shopping mall dedicated to selling hallucinogenic flower heads or marijuana accessories. Derivative products like brownies and gummies are offered openly online – although this is technically illegal – and can be delivered to your door within an hour. There has been talk of restricting the industry before. The largest party in the government coalition wanted to put cannabis back on the list of proscribed narcotics after it took office in 2023, but its former coalition partner, which had made decriminalisation a signature election policy, blocked this plan. But the final straw appears to have been pressure from the UK, which has seen a flood of Thai marijuana being smuggled into the country. It is often young travellers who are lured by drug syndicates in Britain into carrying suitcases filled with it on flights from Thailand. Last month two young British women were arrested in Georgia and Sri Lanka, with large amounts of marijuana from Thailand. Both now face long prison sentences.

Thai Customs Department A growing number of young people have been caught trying to smuggle cannabis to the UK

“It’s massively increased over the last couple of years,” says Beki Wright, spokesperson at the National Crime Agency in London (NCA). The NCA says 142 couriers carrying five tonnes were intercepted in 2023. This number shot up to 800 couriers in 2024 carrying 26 tonnes, and that number has continued to rise this year. “We really want to stop people doing this. Because if you are stopped, in this country or many others, you face life-changing consequences, for something many of them think is low-risk. If you bring illicit drugs into the UK you might get through the first time, but you will eventually be found, and you will most likely go to jail.” So far this year, 173 people accused of smuggling cannabis – nearly all from Thailand – have gone through the court system in the UK and received sentences totalling 230 years.

Jonathan Head/BBC Thai airport authorities have had to intensify their inspections to combat drug smuggling

The NCA is working together with Thai authorities to try to deter young people from being tempted to smuggle cannabis to Britain. But this has proved difficult, because of the very few regulations that exist in Thailand to control the drug. “This is a loophole,” says Panthong Loykulnanta, spokesman for the Thai Customs Department. “The profit is very high, but the penalties here are not high. Most of the time when we catch people at the airport they abandon their luggage. But then there is no punishment. If they insist on checking in the luggage, we can arrest them, but they just pay the fine and try again.” The legalisation of cannabis in 2022 was supposed to be followed by the passing of a new regulatory framework by the Thai parliament. But this never happened, partly, says one MP involved in the drafting process, because of obstruction by vested interests with links to the marijuana industry. A new cannabis law was drawn up last year, but it could be two years away from being passed. The result has been a weed wild west, where almost anything that can make money out of marijuana is tolerated. There has also been an influx of foreign drug syndicates hiding behind Thai nominees, growing huge quantities of potent marijuana strains in brightly-lit, air-conditioned containers. This has flooded the market and driven the price down, which is what has attracted the smugglers. Even if more than half the people carrying marijuana get stopped, they can still make money from what gets through to the UK because of much higher prices there.

Jonathan Head/BBC Small cannabis growers have been calling on the government to better regulate the industry

“You cannot have a free-for-all, right? This became a bar fight rather than a boxing match,” says Tom Kruesopon, a businessman who was instrumental in legalising marijuana, but now thinks things have now gone too far. “When there is a weed shop on every corner, when people are smoking as they’re walking down the street, when tourists are getting high on our beaches, other countries being affected by our laws, with people shipping it illegally – these are negatives.” He argues that the proposed new public health ministry regulations will restrict supply and demand, and restore the industry to what it was always intended to be, focused solely on the medical use of marijuana. There is plenty of opposition to this notion from cannabis enthusiasts who believe the new rules will do nothing to curb smuggling or unlicensed growers. They say the measures will wipe out small-scale businesses who are already struggling because of the glut caused by over-production.

Thanyarat Doksone/BBC Kitty Chopaka, who runs a small weed farm, is an advocate for the community

Earlier this month, many of these smaller growers descended on the prime minister’s office in Bangkok to deliver a formal complaint to the government, calling for a more sensitively regulated industry, and not just what they believe is a knee-jerk reaction to foreign criticism. “I totally understand that the government is probably getting yelled at during international meetings,” says Kitty Chopaka, the most vocal advocate for smaller producers. “Countries saying ‘All your weed is getting smuggled into our country,’ that is quite embarrassing. But right now they are not even enforcing the rules that already exist. If they did, that would probably mitigate a lot of the issues like smuggling, or sale without a licence.” The collapse in prices forced her earlier this year to close down her cannabis dispensary, one of the first to open three years ago.

Thanyarat Doksone/BBC Confiscated luggage, which contains marijuana, in a room at the Bangkok airport