British couple are charged with 'smuggling £1million of cannabis from Thailand' after being stopped at Heathrow
A British couple have been charged with smuggling £1million of cannabis into the UK from Thailand.
Sian Warren, 34, and Daniel McDonald, 36, were arrested by National Crime Agency officers at Heathrow last month after allegedly being found with more than 51kg of the Class B drug in their suitcases.
The pair were charged with importing class B drugs and appeared at Uxbridge magistrates' court on May 29.
They have since been bailed and are due to attend a plea hearing at Isleworth crown court on June 26.
Sian reportedly works as an administrator for a house building business where Daniel's father also works.
The couple, who are both from Salford, Manchester, had flown out for a dream holiday to Bangkok last month, according to the Sun.
Sian's father Tony has claimed she would not have knowingly smuggled drugs into the country.
He told the Sun: 'Sian's not brought anything back, definitely not. She had her own suitcase with clothes in it.'
The couple are the latest Brits to be caught allegedly trying to smuggle drugs into another country.
Last month a British former flight attendant was accused of smuggling £1.2 million of super-strength cannabis into Sri Lanka.
Charlotte May Lee, 21, from Coulsdon, south London, was arrested in Colombo after police discovered 46 kg of 'Kush' - a synthetic strain of cannabis - in her suitcase.
She had just arrived in the Sri Lankan capital on a flight from Bangkok in Thailand. She was arrested at Bandaranaike Airport and taken into custody on Monday, May 11.
She is facing up to 25 years locked in a hellhole Sri Lankan jail - but she has insisted she has been set up
MailOnline spoke to her from her cell where she admitted that she had not been eating because the food was too spicy.
Elsewhere, Bella May Culley, 18, is now facing life in prison in the former Soviet country after being accused of illegally buying, possessing and importing large quantities of narcotics.
The youngster from Billingham, Country Durham, was believed to have gone missing in Thailand before she was detained 3,700 miles away at Tbilisi International Airport.
Concerns had been raised that the two cases were related as both young women left Bangkok airport on the same day and were arrested in Sri Lanka and Georgia respectively within hours of each other.
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The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
PSNI chief warns rioters ‘we will arrest you'
Northern Ireland's police chief has warned 'bigots and racists' behind three nights of disorder in the region that his officers will be coming after them. Jon Boutcher said a young girl who was the victim of an alleged sexual assault in Ballymena at the weekend, an incident that triggered protests that descended into violence in the Co Antrim town, had been 'further traumatised' by the rioting since Monday. Forty-one officers have been injured in the unrest, which had resulted in 15 arrests by Thursday evening. Mr Boutcher, who met the girl's family on Thursday, delivered a stark message to the rioters as he spoke to the media in Belfast after a meeting with his oversight body, the Northern Ireland Policing Board. 'Stop this violence,' he said. 'We will come after you. We will arrest you. We will prosecute you successfully. It is not in any way a way for a civilised society to behave and it must stop now.' He said the family was 'mortified' by the disorder. 'This girl's family and this girl want it to end. Our communities want it to end. We need it to end. So please don't come out on the streets tonight. If you do, we will police you and we will deal with you through the criminal justice system.' After the warning, gatherings in several towns proceeded largely without any major disturbance by 9pm on Thursday. A significant police presence had been deployed to Ballymena and Portadown but there was no initial repeat of the violence of previous nights. Police said a separate protest in east Belfast also ended early in the evening. The riotous behaviour earlier in the week saw vandalism, vehicles burned and arson attacks on a number of properties across several towns. Petrol bombs, fireworks, masonry and a hatchet were among items thrown at officers. Police responded with water cannon, dogs and plastic baton rounds in an attempt to disperse crowds during riots in Ballymena. Mr Boutcher said: 'I want to specifically mention the 41 police officers who've been injured. Each of those officers have put themselves in harm's way to protect our communities. 'And I want to send a very clear message to all our diverse communities: we stand absolutely shoulder to shoulder with you. We are here to protect you. 'We are your police service, and these bigots and racists will not win the day. This will be policed properly. We will deal with this – and we all know that in this room – but let's call an end to it now.' The PSNI chief said the initial lawful and legitimate process before unrest broke out was done in a way that was responsible and empathetic to the victim. However, he said the protest was subsequently 'hijacked' and turned into 'wanton, disgraceful criminal behaviour that is absolutely race motivated'. The chief said the service was under-resourced and needed to be funded 'properly' rather than 'disgracefully'. However, he said his officers would still bring people to justice: 'We've put our public order inquiry team together, we'll be releasing images of those responsible. We will be going after them.' Mr Boutcher said 80 public-order officers from Scotland came to the region on Thursday to support policing efforts. The head officer described how PSNI members helped evacuate foreign national families who were hiding in attics and wardrobes in their homes in Ballymena as rioters went on the rampage on Monday night. He said the families targeted had done nothing wrong. 'They are not criminals. They contribute positively to society here and are well integrated,' he said. 'Fire Service colleagues described how they went to the scenes to stop arson attacks at those addresses, and how they, in all their years in the Fire Service, have not seen levels of violence to that level, and told me specifically and directly of the bravery, the courage of a very thin green line of police officers that without doubt, in my view, saved lives that night.' Earlier, a judge warned that courts will deal 'robustly' with those involved in violence in Ballymena. District Judge Nigel Broderick warned that young people who got involved were risking a significant custodial sentence as three teenagers faced rioting charges at the town's magistrates' court on Thursday. Michael Elliot, 18, of Lanntara, Ballymena, and two youths were the first defendants to appear in court since the sustained violence erupted in the Co Antrim town on Monday. Meanwhile, two other teenage boys who were arrested during the disorder have been released on bail to allow for further police inquiries. Secretary of State Hilary Benn described the scenes as 'mindless racist thuggery' while Stormont Justice Minister Naomi Long said it has been a 'three-day festival of hate and destruction' which needs to stop before someone loses their life. Thirty minutes from Ballymena, a leisure centre in Larne was subjected to arson after temporarily being used as an emergency shelter for those in urgent need following disturbances in the town earlier in the week. Communities Minister Gordon Lyons, who highlighted the use of the building in a social media post, said all those who had been staying at the leisure centre are in the care of the Housing Executive and have been moved out of Larne. Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill said Mr Lyons should resign over his social media post while the leader of the opposition in the Northern Ireland Assembly SDLP MLA Matthew O'Toole said he would refer the Communities Minister to the standards commission. Mr Benn also asked the minister to 'reflect upon his words' and 'not upon his position'. Mr Lyons has resisted calls for his resignation and said he would 'strongly hit back at any notion' that he had publicly revealed the facility was being used to house immigrant families who had been affected by violence in Ballymena.
The Sun
30 minutes ago
- The Sun
As violent thugs riot & ‘turn UK town into Iraq', locals claim unchecked migrants have been ‘dumped on their doorstep'
WITH petrol bombs lighting up the night sky and fireworks crackling over head, Ballymena was ablaze once again. Balaclava-clad thugs hurled bricks, rocks and bottles — anything they could get their hands on — against a barricade of police Land Rover Tangis standing in their way. 12 12 Riot officers blocking access to Bridge Street retaliated with water cannon and baton rounds. But the dense crowd that had gathered outside Dreams department store only seemed more excited by the nightmare spectacle, whooping and taking pictures with their phones as spy drones hovered overhead. This was the third night of anti- immigration protests in Northern Ireland and residents said it was a flashback to the worst days of the Troubles, when sectarian violence caused regular clashes with police. Terrified Karen Portas, 54, said: 'I haven't seen anything like it since the 1970s and 1980s. I was scared for my life last night. 'I felt like I was living in Iraq with everything smashing and burning. 'The noise started at around midnight. I looked out of my window and saw a load of boys in balaclavas wielding baseball bats. 'These were young boys, just 14 to 15, but they were setting fire to houses without a care for who was inside — setting fire to homes owned by white people — and the police didn't do a thing, so it's no wonder the young people are not scared of them. 'When they unleashed the water cannon, they started cheering like they were at a water park.' 'The lid came off' Karen, who is retired on medical grounds, lives in the Clonavon Terrace area of Ballymena, which became the focus of the carnage this week. Rioting erupted after a young girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by two 14-year-old boys, who were charged with attempted rape and then asked for a Romanian translator when they appeared at Coleraine Magistrates' Court. Homes TORCHED & missiles thrown at cops as riots break out in UK town over 'sex attack' A peaceful protest began on Monday night then turned ugly as locals complained they were having foreigners and migrants 'dumped' on their doorstep in record numbers. A total of 15 officers were injured during clashes and four homes — including those of the alleged perpetrators — were attacked that night. On Tuesday, more officers were injured and more homes set alight as the violence spread to other towns. Gangs of feral masked teenagers returned to the streets on Wednesday, their mindless antics streamed across countless channels on social media. Cradling her dog TJ as she stood on the shattered glass outside her home, Karen said tensions with the Roma community lay behind the appalling scenes. She said: 'I understand the anger. If it was my daughter that had been attacked, I don't know what I would do. 'People feel the Government is sending migrants here without any fact-checking. 'There are lots of Roma people now and the women and children are lovely, in my experience. 12 12 'It's the men that are the problem. They put their furniture in the street and the way they leer at you when you walk past is disgusting. 'My daughter tells me they've opened brothels and girls are trafficked here to work in them. "There's a garage down that alleyway where they drink and take drugs and make noise throughout the night. It's not acceptable, and this used to be a lovely place to live. 'But I'm one of the only Irish people left here now.' Ballymena was still littered with riot debris on Wednesday, after many newcomers from Bulgaria, Poland and the Philippines decided to flee. Smashed and boarded-up windows, gutted terraced houses and the charred outlines of torched cars could be seen across town, showing how the chaos had escalated. Cowering residents had taken to sticking Union Jacks to their doors, some even placing signs such as 'Filipino lives here', to deter further attacks. As rumours spread that Unionist paramilitaries were behind the rampage, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn condemned what he termed ' racist violence '. But DUP councillor Lawrie Philpott insisted the clashes were an inevitable reaction to years of unchecked migration. He told The Sun: 'Protest is the wrong word. It was a gathering of about 5,000 people from across Northern Ireland who wanted to show their disgust at what is going on. 'The pot has boiled and it went bang — the lid came off. The issue is that you can't find affordable housing to live in and when you go to the government to ask for help, you're given the brush-off. And this all stems from Westminster. 'If someone arrives here as an illegal immigrant or as a legal migrant, they will be given priority as the system will bend over backwards to find them housing. 'That's wrong and this is simmering across the whole of the province and across the UK. 'I see this going like a domino and it is mob rule and thuggery, but this is not racism. People feel they have nowhere else to go and what do you do when you're stuck in a corner? You come out fighting. 'I'm a Ballymena man and this used to be 100 per cent British. The demographic started to change just five or seven years ago and people are angry.' Situated in County Antrim, 25 miles north west of Belfast, Ballymena was where Unionist firebrand Ian Paisley, who died aged 88 in 2014, grew up. His spirit lives on with Union Jacks lining almost every street ahead of the annual marching parade season, which starts next month. The region is known as Northern Ireland's equivalent of the Bible Belt, where Protestantism is the dominant religion and 'drugs, the devil and debauchery' are abhorred. Pensioner Trevor Boyd, 77, was handing out Christian leaflets on Wednesday. He said: 'I'm here to tell people that Jesus loves everyone no matter where you are from. 'Ballymena is a good town and while there has always been tension between Protestants and Catholics, I have never seen anything like this in my life. 12 'The issue is there have been a lot of people moving into the area who are not working and the numbers have escalated in recent years. People think that's because of migrants crossing the Channel and it makes them angry. It became a bomb waiting to go off. 'It is like Southport in England. It just took this particular incident to start an explosion.' 'They're scared' Butcher Martin Scullion, 59, slammed the government in Westminster. He said: 'They're out of touch with what is going on here. The English don't give a flying toss about us. 'If they had their way, they'd get rid of us. 'The older generation and youngsters can't come out on the streets because they're scared of being molested and touched. "I'm not being racist, but it's getting worse. "I've heard there are gangs of Roma gypsies heading this way and filling up cans with fuel from the petrol station. "I don't know what they're planning, it's scary. 'I've run this butcher's shop for ten years and it was a different place back then. It was grand, you knew everybody. Last night was terrifying. We saw houses burning and people smashing the doors and throwing big rocks. Kristine, relocated from the Philippines 'You don't know who is on the streets now. 'I've had potatoes stolen from the shop and when the thief is arrested they say, 'I don't speak English'.' Baker Kristine Landicho, 40, lives in Ballymena with her husband Elizer and son Prince, 11, having relocated from Philippines capital Manila. She said: 'Last night was terrifying. We saw houses burning and people smashing the doors and throwing big rocks. "We've only been here for seven months. Before this it was quiet here and people were nice, but this week was scary. "The first night it was locals attacking the houses and the second night it was people from all over Northern Ireland. 'The second night was the worst because there were so many cars and houses on fire. 'They think we are all the same and they don't like mass migration. Luckily, they didn't attack our house. "I'm worried they will come for us again tonight. But as long as we are safe, we will keep living in Northern Ireland.' 12 12 12
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Dog owner died after falling off cliff trying to rescue pup when it tumbled down rock face, inquest finds
A DOG owner died after falling off a cliff trying to rescue his pup when it tumbled down the rock face, an inquest heard. Gary Conlon had been on holiday with his family when he took Monty for a walk last October. 2 2 A witness said he saw Gary, 64, on the headland path at Porth Joke beach, Cornwall, waving his arms in distress after Monty went over. Daniel Beesley said the dog looked 'fine' in the sea. Mr Beesley added: 'I shouted to him two or three times that it was too dangerous and that he would slip but he ignored me.' However, Gary tried to climb down and slipped, landing on a flat rock before strong waves swept him into a cave. A pathologist said electrical firm boss Gary, of Eccleshall, Staffs, died from cold water immersion and a chest injury. The inquest heard his family had heard emergency services and a helicopter near to where they had their holiday apartment and discovered that it was Gary who had been recovered from the sea but efforts to save him failed. Gary's wife Katrina hailed his 'zest for life and wicked sense of humour'. Monty was rescued and has recovered. A conclusion of misadventure was recorded.
