Yet more Brit drug mules caught as pair, 19 & 21, jailed for 6 YEARS after being found with 150lbs of cannabis in case
SMUGGLE HELL Yet more Brit drug mules caught as pair, 19 & 21, jailed for 6 YEARS after being found with 150lbs of cannabis in case
TWO young Brits have been jailed for six years each for smuggling nearly 70kg of cannabis out of Thailand stashed in their luggage.
Tihaise Darlin Elisha, 19, and Taylor Tamara Simone, 21, were swooped on by staff at an airport in Zimbabwe in May - two amongst a slew of Brit arrested on international drugs smuggling charges recently.
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Tihaise Darlin Elisha, 19, pictured with one of the suitcases carrying cannabis
Credit: Newsflash
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Taylor Tamara Simone, 21, with a large number of bags of drugs piled up
Credit: Newsflash
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The pair were convicted of drugs smuggling and sentenced to six years in prison each
Credit: You Tube/ZimpapersDigital
Security officers at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare noticed the pair acting suspiciously on May 1, so yanked them aside.
A search of their luggage found that four Monarch suitcases were completely stuffed with weed.
Police found 53 packets containing a total of 66kg of loose skunky cannabis, known locally as "dagga".
The red and brown cases were tagged with the young Brits' names.
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Three months later, the pair have been found guilty of drugs trafficking by the Harare Magistrates' Court, according to Zimbabwe's national prosecutor.
Each was sentenced to nine years in prison, with three years suspended on condition of good behaviour.
The National Prosecuting Authority warned that the country maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward transnational drug trafficking, saying: "The law will catch up with offenders, no matter their nationality.
"Airports are not gateways for crime."
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The number of Brits arrested for international drugs smuggling has exploded in recent months.
Many of those have flown out from Thailand - and a few cases have made international headlines.
Charlotte May Lee fears being locked away for 20yrs over £1.2m Sri Lanka drugs bust – & is 'aware' of Bella Culley case
Bella May Culley, 19, was arrested in Georgia in May after allegedly bundling a large cannabis stash out of the Kingdom - and is awaiting trial.
The teen claimed she had been "forced under torture" by a Brit drug gang in Thailand to carry the haul through the airport, heading for Tbilisi.
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Charlotte May Lee, 21, faces a similar situation after being arrested in Sri Lanka, allegedly with around £1.2million worth of cannabis in her suitcases, also in May.
Former flight attendant Charlotte, from south London, has yet to be charged but is still holed up at a jail in Negombo on the west coast.
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Brit teen Bella Culley was arrested in Georgia after allegedly smuggling a stash of cannabis out of Thailand
Credit: Facebook
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Charlotte faces a long stay behind bars before she is sentenced
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
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21-year-old mum Cameron Bradford has been accused of smuggling cannabis in her bags
And a young British mum, Cameron Bradford, 21, was nabbed in Munich in April for allegedly smuggling the marijuana as well.
In February, British and Thai authorities collaborated with Operation Chaophraya - which was cracked down specifically on smugglers attempting to post cannabis from Thailand to the UK.
This results in the arrest of over 50 Brits in Thailand.
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Other networks have been uprooted, such as 11 Brits nabbed in March in relation to large-scale smuggling through the airport on the island of Koh Samui.
A month later, Thai police caught Adel Mohammed in Bangkok, who they suspect of pulling the strings behind the operation.
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