Cannabis seizures at Scottish airports have tripled, driven by an increase in smuggling operations from Asia. The National Crime Agency (NCA) reported a notable rise in passengers arriving from Thailand with cannabis hidden in their luggage. This trend mirrors similar findings in England, where cannabis seizures at UK airports quintupled over the past year.
In Scotland, from October to March, there were 32 drug-related disruptions at airports, up from an average of 11 incidents during the same six-month timeframe in the previous three years. Notably, 30 out of these disruptions involved cannabis, with 20 specifically linked to travelers from Thailand.
The growing demand for high-quality cannabis in the UK has incentivized smugglers to transport the drug from regions where it is legally cultivated. Despite a lack of direct flights between Scotland and Southeast Asia, the NCA has observed a significant increase in cannabis couriers at Scottish airports.
Philip Marshall, the NCA’s regional head of investigations in Scotland, indicated that organized crime groups are taking advantage of the misconception that cannabis imported from legal markets is superior to domestically grown varieties. He emphasized that the primary motivation for these gangs is profit, as overseas cannabis generally has lower production costs and is marketed as a premium product.
Passengers caught attempting to smuggle cannabis face severe legal consequences. For example, a Scottish Championship footballer, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, was arrested for trying to import £600,000 worth of cannabis at Stansted Airport and later admitted to orchestrating the operation. He was released from his club, Greenock Morton, following his arrest.
The NCA works in collaboration with Border Force and Police Scotland to combat drug smuggling. The agency noted that 750 individuals were arrested for drug smuggling across the UK in 2024, with 290 of those arrests involving UK citizens. The total amount of cannabis seized reached 27 tonnes, a significant increase from previous years.
While cannabis possession for personal use is not routinely prosecuted in Scotland, individuals caught smuggling face potential sentences of up to 14 years. A case in point is Fernando Mayans Fuster, a 51-year-old man who was caught with 158 kilograms of cannabis in eight suitcases after arriving from Los Angeles. He received a prison sentence of over three years.
The NCA continues to target higher-level criminals involved in the drug trade and warns potential smugglers about the serious risks involved. The agency’s statistics indicate a clear upward trend in cannabis trafficking, highlighting a growing challenge for law enforcement agencies in Scotland and the wider UK.
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