Brit drug mule suspect arrested after flying out of Thailand

News.com.au

2 days ago

A young mum is being detained in Germany for allegedly smuggling cannabis in her bags on a flight from Thailand – in yet another shocking case.
Cameron Bradford, 21, from Knebworth in the north of Hertfordshire, England, was detained at Germany's Munich Airport on April 21 as she tried to collect her luggage.
Her arrest comes amid a significant spike in Brits being caught trafficking drugs from Thailand.
Sources say Cameron was initially supposed to fly into London Heathrow via Singapore, but changed her flight to Munich at the last minute, serving as a red flag to German authorities.
A family friend said Cameron had travelled to Thailand on her own and posted a photo of the ocean on her Facebook account just days before her arrest.
Sources say she could face at least four months in a German prison while authorities investigate the origin of the drugs.
When Cameron, who has a young son, didn't return home on her Heathrow bound flight as expected, her family filed a missing persons report.
But the next day the family was alerted to her whereabouts in Germany.
Chief prosecutor Anne Leiding of the Munich Public Prosecutor's Office said: 'We can confirm that we are conducting proceedings in this matter.
'The defendant is still in custody.'
The prosecution is refusing to discuss the charges or even give a trial date, citing the ongoing investigation.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'We are supporting a British woman who is detained in Germany and are in contact with her family and the local authorities.'
In 2024, Germany legalised cannabis for recreational use by adults aged 18 and over.
But despite a raft of publicity around the law change two essential points were missed.
The law does not extend to tourists or nonresidents, including Brits.
It's also interpreted differently across all of Germany's 16 federal states.
And crucially the unauthorised import of cannabis, even for personal use, is strictly illegal and carries a hefty five years in prison.
It comes after a British couple claiming to be tourists from Thailand were busted with more than 33kg of cannabis in their suitcases at a Spanish airport.
The pair were picked out by suspicious cops at Valencia Airport after displaying a 'nervous and evasive attitude' and are now behind bars on drug trafficking charges.
The man and woman, aged 33 and 34, were stopped before reaching customs, with officials later discovering vacuum-packed marijuana and no clothes or personal belongings in their luggage.
Police said the pair will not yet be named but were arrested late on May 5 and hauled to court the next day.
Their court appearance, which led to their remand in prison, took place behind-closed-doors as is normal in Spain where only trials are held in public.
The two British nationals are not expected to find out for several months now whether they will be formally indicted and face trial.