Three P caught with 100kg of cannabis at Heathrow
Three crooks have been jailed after UK Border Force and the National Crime Agency (NCA) busted a massive cannabis smuggling ring at Heathrow Airport. Over 100 kilograms of the Class B drug were seized in a high-profile operation.
Volleyball player caught with £600k stash
The crackdown kicked off on September 20 when 22-year-old Raekelle Powell, a pro volleyball player from Toronto, was stopped at Heathrow. Officials found 19kg of cannabis in her suitcase, worth an eye-watering £600,000 on UK streets. Powell admitted she was paid just 300 Canadian dollars to transport the drugs.
Two more smugglers nabbed with £2.3m haul
- Just two days later, Northern Irish woman Siobhan McAtavey, 24, was caught arriving from Bangkok with cannabis worth £1.1 million hidden in her baggage.
- Malaysian national Meu Chew Wong, 42, was also arrested coming in from Bangkok. Officers found 43kg of cannabis shoved into two suitcases, with a street value topping £1.26 million. Wong claimed he thought he was smuggling bird’s nests and was paid 10,000 Malaysian Ringgit.
Prison sentences handed down
All three pleaded guilty at earlier court hearings. Powell got 15 months at Isleworth Crown Court on October 24, Wong was jailed for 16 months the next day, and McAtavey received 20 months on October 30.
NCA Senior Investigating Officer Piers Phillips said: “These sentences should act as a stark warning to anybody thinking of smuggling cannabis into the UK – you will be arrested, prosecuted, and put into prison. The gangs responsible for this trade have no concern for the fate of the couriers they employ. All they care about is profit.”
Authorities vow to keep working with international partners to smash global drug networks and shut down these dangerous smuggling operations.
