5 days ago
Why so many young Brits are being 'manipulated' into smuggling drugs
Awaiting an uncertain fate in a prison 2,000 miles from home, Bella May Culley is far from the only young British traveller caught up in a murky web of organised crime.
The 18-year-old is among a spate of high-profile cases where young backpackers have found themselves facing decades in jail accused of being drug mules.
Experts say the Far East has become a 'Chamber of Commerce for organised crime' as underworld syndicates try to cash in on a boom in legally-grown cannabis.
Bella, from Billingham on Teesside, went missing in Thailand three weeks ago, with her dad Niel flying out to search for her before it emerged she had been arrested at Tbilisi Airport in Georgia.
The aspiring nurse, who is said to be pregnant, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years or life imprisonment in the post-Soviet country if she is convicted over a cannabis haul worth £200,000.
Her case was followed by that of Charlotte May Lee, 21, who is currently in prison in Sri Lanka, also accused of trying to run the drug out of Thailand.
The former cabin crew worker, from Coulsdon, south London is accused of attempting to smuggle 101lb (46kg) of synthetic kush worth £1.2 million in two suitcases.
Speaking from Negomobo Prison, a notorious jail north of Colombo, she has protested her innocence, saying she had 'no idea' that the substance was in her luggage.
The pair's cases are one of many that have cropped up in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, a British couple were arrested in Spain after 32kg of cannabis was discovered in two that day, an electrician from Cumbria narrowly escaped a death sentence in Bali after initial drug trafficking charges against him were dropped, and instead replaced with hiding information from the authorities.
On Wednesday, a British pensioner was arrested in Chile after allegedly attempting to smuggle five kilos of methamphetamine.
With at least four cases relating to Britons being accused of smuggling drugs in the past week, it begs the question: why is this happening?
Dr James Windle, of the Department of Sociology and Criminology, University College Cork, gave an insight into the ruthless tactics used by the traffickers to recruit mules.
'Every trafficking organisation is different, and the larger, more sophisticated groups are very good at identifying people who might be open to exploitation,' he told Metro.
'Sometimes they have recruiters who do it as their specific job.
'At first it might be consensual, with the person targeted being offered something they value, be it money, a holiday or something connected to an addiction.
'At some point in the process there will be a subtle hint that there's the potential for violence if they don't go ahead with it.
'There will very often be a grooming process where they might say a person has to go somewhere to pay for their holiday, with the flights paid for. If they try and back out then they might say, here's a photograph of someone you love or even something as subtle as, 'you know we're very dangerous — only joking.'
'Sometimes it takes the mules months, even years, to realise how they have been manipulated.'
In the UK, cannabis seizures at airports amounted to 27 tonnes last year — five times higher than in 2023.
The drugs were found on 750 smugglers, up from 134 the previous year, according to National Crime Agency (NCA) figures.
Traffickers making 'significant profits' by smuggling 'perceived high-quality cannabis' grown legally in the USA, Canada and Thailand have been identified by the NCA as being behind the rise.
In some of the seizures, UK Border Force officers found electronic trackers with the drugs, thought to have been planted at source by the crime gangs to follow their illicit loads.
Increased inspections of postal shipments may have led Thai crime gangs in particular to use Instagram-generation backpackers.
Nathan Paul Southern, director of operations at The EyeWitness Project, which specialises in the investigation of organised crime, conflict and corruption, said: 'Thailand's recent legalisation of cannabis has opened the door to more opportunistic smuggling efforts, with some groups now turning to individual mules to move cannabis across borders.
'However, this trend should not be mistaken for a major shift in drug trafficking strategy.
'A new bilateral agreement between the UK and Thailand to curb drug smuggling — including increased inspections of postal shipments from Thailand — may have prompted some traffickers to experiment with alternative methods, including using couriers or mules.'
However, the investigative journalist does not see any fundamental change in how the region's drug syndicates operate.
'Transporting cannabis by air — especially in quantities large enough to generate profit — is costly, risky and logistically difficult,' he said.
'While some traffickers may try to exploit the fact that cannabis can be bought legally in Thailand and then smuggled into countries like the UK, this is a very different operation from the large-scale, coordinated trafficking of methamphetamine or heroin originating from the war-torn jungles of Myanmar.
'The vast majority of Southeast Asia's drug exports still rely on maritime routes and are dominated by meth and heroin from the Golden Triangle —the epicentre of the world's largest narcotics trade and the source of a massive human trafficking and cyber scam crisis.
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'Using young, easily manipulated people to move cannabis may be one of several minor tactics in play, but it is unlikely to represent a dramatic change in trafficking methods.
'Instead, it reflects how organised crime groups are constantly testing new ways to monetise legal ambiguities and exploit the vulnerable.
'The region is becoming a bit of a Chamber of Commerce for international organised crime syndicates.
'Some of these are involved in well organised bulk trafficking operations and others in more opportunistic smuggling.'
Young British women posting Instagram pictures of their travels are not the only ones finding themselves caught in this nexus which spreads far beyond Thailand.
Brown-Frater Chyna Jada, 23, was arrested on May 18 over an alleged 18kg of cannabis in her luggage as she went to board a British Airways flight from Ghana to Gatwick.
It is alleged she had 32 slabs of the drug in her bag, with a street value of around £170,000.
Fellow Brit Owusu Williams Christian, 19, was also arrested at the same airport for drug smuggling offences.
He was on his way to Dubai when 92 slabs of drugs weighing just under 54kg were allegedly found in his bag. Authorities have not confirmed if the two cases are connected.
Bella May Culley arrested in Georgia for allegedly smuggling 14kg of cannabis from Thailand after flying in on May 10
Charlotte May Lee arrested in Colombo two days later after police found 46 kilos of kush synthetic cannabis in her luggage
Browne-Frater Chyna Ja arrested on May 18 in Ghana accused of attempting to bring up to 18kg of cannabis into UK
Owusu Williams Christian arrested at same airport en-route to Dubai, allegedly with 92 slabs of drugs weighing 54kg in his bags
Unnamed couple detained in Spain on May 5 after 32kg of cannabis was discovered in two suitcases
Unnamed pensioner, 79, arrested in Chile after allegedly attempting to smuggle five kilos of methamphetamine
Dr Jennifer Fleetwood, senior lecturer in criminology at City St George's, University of London, has spoken to drug mules for her research.
The prize-winning author on drugs smuggling has found that while young British women make the headlines, the reality is more complicated.
'There are different motivations for the mules and they are men and women of different ages,' she said.
'While there have been lots of social media images of suspected women drug mules in beachwear dominating the headlines, men are just as likely to be involved, but their cases are less likely to be reported on in the media.
'In one case I met a man who was a pensioner living on benefits for many years and he just wanted some excitement, a free trip and a chance to have some money.
'Another myth is that the mules are chasing an Instagram lifestyle promised to them by the traffickers.
'The reality is more mundane, with the rising financial crisis having a big impact on young people.'
Those recruited by the traffickers are the drug trade's equivalent of 'sweatshop workers' who are left facing the harsh repercussions, Dr Fleetwood told Metro.
'As long as people have researched drug trafficking there have been young, backpacker-types used as mules,' she said.
'The typical image of the traffickers is of criminal masterminds who force them to carry the drugs.
'In my experience, it's more likely to be a friend's boyfriend, a work contact or even another member of a church who is looking for someone with a passport that allows them to travel quite widely.
'The mules may be in a precarious financial position already, working in low-paid jobs, maybe in the illegal economy. More Trending
'But they find themselves becoming the drug trade's equivalent of sweatshop workers, taking on the biggest risks with the worst conditions.'
Just weeks before the arrests in May, the NCA warned that targeting couriers 'is crucial to breaking the supply chain' and warned anyone tempted to smuggle drugs that the risk of being caught 'is very high, and simply isn't worth it.'
The backdrop to the latest cases suggests the traffickers will keep trying to find ways through, no matter who gets caught in the crossfire.
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