Latest news with #ManchesterAirport
North Wales Live
6 minutes ago
- North Wales Live
Concerns for Llandudno man who flew to Tenerife but never returned home
Concerns are growing for the welfare of a Llandudno man who travelled to Tenerife but failed to get his flight home. Police have launched an appeal asking members of the public to help to find the 28-year-old. North Wales Police say the man - whose name has been given as Gerallt - was last seen leaving his home in Llandudno about three weeks ago bound for the Canary Islands. Officers say they are "becoming increasingly concerned" about him. A spokesman on the force's NWP West Conwy Coastal Facebook page: "We are becoming increasingly concerned for the welfare of a man who has been missing since earlier this month. Gerallt, who is 28 years old, was last seen leaving his home address in Llandudno on July 4th. "He is believed to be in Tenerife, after officers received information that he boarded a flight from Manchester Airport on July 7th. However following checks made with the airline he did not board his flight home on July 12th as expected. "He is described as approximately 5' 8" tall and has short, black coloured hair. He was last seen wearing a navy-blue tracksuit and black trainers." Police say several lines of enquiry are underway with the authorities in Tenerife, including the British Embassy. The spokesman added: "We are urging anybody who may know of his whereabouts, or for Gerallt himself to make contact to let us, or his family know that he is safe and well."
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Brit's backpacking lie unravelled when airport cops checked her bag
A Brit travelling home claiming to be a backpacker has had her lie exposed when Border Force at Manchester Airport found nearly 50kg of drugs crammed into her huge suitcase A woman heading back from a trip in Thailand, claiming to be a backpacker, had her lie exposed right in front of her when the border force opened her gigantic suitcase to find 50 kilos of cannabis. Lauren Martin of Worthing Street, Liverpool, made her way back from the Asian tourist destination to Manchester Airport on April 5, with her huge suitcase stuffed to the brim with 31 vacuum-sealed bags of the drugs. Just moments before she was busted, Border Force asked what was in the surprisingly large bag, to which she claimed was just clothes. But the team at Manchester Airport were still sceptical and would go on to find the 49 kilos. Appearing at Manchester Crown Court, a judge blasted Martin, telling her: "I have no idea what possessed you." Recounting her lies to the court, prosecutor Elizabeth Walker said: " She was arrested and interviewed, and told officers she went to Thailand for a week backpacking. 'She said she met two people in the hotel and went out to drink. One of them asked her to take some clothes back for their girlfriend. She said she was expecting to meet their partner at the airport, and didn't check the cases as she felt it wasn't right to do so.' Martin's defence Betsy Hindle mitigated by saying her client had an electronically monitored curfew from 7pm to 7am and was receiving Universal Credit. The Manchester Evening News reported that Judge Paul Lawton was less than impressed, adding: "You say there was no reward in it for you, I'm not convinced that is true. I accept you were naïve and pressured by others.' 'You need to understand how perilously close you came to going to prison. If this had been anything other than class B, you would have been going to prison for years and years.' Pleading guilty to being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a class B drug, the judge believed Martin was capable of rehabilitation. He handed her a year-long prison sentence suspended for two years, along with 100 hours of unpaid community service. Martin had also been extremely lucky that her drug smuggling was found on the British side of her trip, with Thailand notorious for being tough on drug offences. If found guilty of drug smuggling, people can be sentenced to life imprisonment and even given the death penalty depending on the amount and type of substances. Jonathan Wheeler was issued a death sentence when he was caught smuggling 2kg of heroin worth £1m into Thailand in 1994 . He spoke to LBC about the rise in young Brits being targeted and groomed into becoming drug mules. Mr Wheeler said these drug gangs can spot exactly when holiday makers are running short on cash and can soon target them. He added: "People want more of that. The raves, the parties and all the rest of it. They want more of that. They [the gangs] are trying to be successful and make money to get another meal. They are trying to get you to do it again in the future. "They will target vulnerable people. They'll see that they're down on their luck and they're offering the run. They don't want to come home, so they think 'yeah, I'll take the chance."
North Wales Live
8 hours ago
- North Wales Live
Women tells Manchester Airport cops she had been to Thailand backpacking, then they checked her bag
A judge told a woman "I have no idea what possessed you" after she was caught bringing almost 50 kilos of cannabis into the UK. Lauren Martin was stopped by Border Force officers at Manchester Airport, after flying back from Thailand on April 5 this year. She was asked what was inside her large suitcase and Martin claimed it was just clothing. However further inspections by officers found 31 vacuum sealed bags of the class B drug, weighing a total of 49 kilograms, Manchester Crown Court heard. "She was arrested and interviewed, and told officers she went to Thailand for a week backpacking," said prosecutor Elizabeth Walker. "She said she met two people in the hotel and went out to drink. One of them asked her to take some clothes back for their girlfriend. She said she was expecting to meet their partner at the airport, and didn't check the cases as she felt it wasn't right to do so." In mitigation, Betsy Hindle said her client had been subject to an electronically monitored curfew from 7pm to 7am and was receiving Universal Credit. "I have no idea what possessed you to try and bring 49 kilos of cannabis into this country," said judge Paul Lawton: "You say there was no reward in it for you, I'm not convinced that is true. I accept you were naïve and pressured by others." He added: "You need to understand how perilously close you came to going to prison. If this had been anything other than class B, you would have been going to prison for years and years." Judge Lawton said he felt able to suspend the sentence as Martin was 'capable of rehabilitation'. Martin, of Worthing Street, Liverpool, was handed a 12 month prison term which was suspended for two years. She must also complete 100 hours of unpaid work. She had earlier pleaded guilty to being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a class B drug.
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Friends claimed they'd been shopping in New York but their luggage said otherwise
There are some people who are not phased by the security checks and scanners and brazenly try to smuggle illegal substances through the airport - a number of them have now been nabbed Thousands of families will be jetting off to and from Manchester Airport for their summer getaways. While most holidaymakers are mindful of the 100ml liquid rule and removing large electrical items from their hand luggage, there are always a few who slip up. Yet, there are some travellers who seem unfazed by security measures and audaciously attempt to smuggle illegal substances in their luggage. A number of these so-called "tourists" were nabbed by vigilant security teams and police at Manchester Airport. Among those caught was a pair of friends who claimed their suitcases were brimming with shopping, a woman who flaunted her holiday snaps to staff before being apprehended, and a boxer who accepted an "offer he couldn't refuse". Below is a snapshot of some individuals arrested at Manchester Airport, as highlighted by the Manchester Evening News, though it's not an exhaustive list. They claimed they went shopping in New York - their luggage told a different tale Sophie Bannister, 30, hailing from Withington, and her mate Levi-April Whalley, 31, from Lancashire, appeared to have returned from a fabulous shopping spree in New York, touching down on British turf with suitcases that seemed to overflow with new purchases. Their suitcases, however, told a starkly different tale. Upon their return to the UK, the pair were caught with over 35kg of cannabis in their baggage. In April, seated together in the dock, the women clasped hands and wept as the court was informed of their attempt to smuggle the drugs into the country, reports Liverpool Echo. Both women pleaded guilty to the charge of fraudulent evasion of prohibition. Bannister's 20-month term was suspended for 18 months, while Whalley was given a 16-month sentence which was also suspended for the same duration. The court heard that both women were susceptible to exploitation due to their personal and financial struggles. The remorseful friends disclosed to the Mirror the series of events that led them to become entangled in a cannabis smuggling scheme, which seemingly began with a single message on social media. She flaunted her holiday snaps to staff - then they nicked her A mum who proudly presented her vacation snaps to officers at Manchester Airport found herself under arrest when they spotted a revealing detail. Larissa Lins, aged 27, insisted she had travelled to the UK to "research nice places" after transiting through France and Portugal from Brazil. Despite her claims of innocence regarding any illicit activities, the photo gallery she shared with the officials inadvertently revealed her time in France. While browsing through the images, they came across a snapshot of the "white pellets". Further investigation revealed that Lins had ingested, concealed, and stashed away a kilogram of narcotics both inside and outside her body. After admitting to her role in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on importing a class A substance, she was sentenced on October 17 last year. The court informed her that she will "almost inevitably" face deportation back to Brazil after completing 40% of her term. Boxer behind bars after irresistible offer A former pugilist and father of two found himself under arrest at Manchester Airport following what he described as "'an offer he felt he could not refuse". Edward Nesbitt, aged 36, was one of two drug mules imprisoned in May, alongside Yoke Woon, subsequent to the seizure of a suitcase crammed with 23 kilos of cannabis at the airport. Manchester Crown Court listened to accounts of how Uber driver Woon arrived with the contraband on a flight from Singapore in March. He abandoned the suitcase on the luggage belt in Terminal 2, where it was retrieved by Nesbitt, who had landed on a different plane from Amsterdam. Prosecutor Mark Pritchard detailed how Woon, aged 43, touched down at T2 just past 8:30 am on March 4 on a Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore, using a Malaysian passport. Friends admir 'you're going to see it' as luggage scrutinised Two school friends faced the music after a "naïve and stupid" decision following their three-week revelry in Thailand. Lewis Ellis and James Poutch jetted off in April to experience a festival dubbed as "the world's biggest water fight". Upon their return to Manchester Airport via Abu Dhabi, Ellis, 20, and Poutch, 19, were stopped for a luggage inspection. Ellis didn't hesitate to confess to customs officers: "I have cannabis in my bag, I may as well tell you because you're going to see it." The search revealed a staggering 37kg of cannabis stashed in their bags. Both Ellis and Poutch were handed suspended sentences at Manchester Crown Court.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How to get tickets for Race Across the World's Manchester experience revealed
Race Across the World: The Experience, which originally first started in London, is coming to Manchester this year and ticket information has now been confirmed. The experience gives fans of the BBC series Race Across the World (RATW) a chance to race across the city much like the participants do on the programme, but on a smaller scale. Each series of the programme sees pairs race a stretch of the globe with no luxuries such as mobile phones, flights or credit cards – they only have the cash that a flight would cost. You'll have "no maps" and "no public transport" to help guide you, and you'll be against the clock. How to get tickets to Race Across the World: The Experience in Manchester Originally, when the attraction was announced, fans of the show could only sign up to the waiting list but now, we know exactly when tickets will be going on sale. CityDays explained that those who signed up for the waiting list will be able to access discounted presale tickets from Tuesday, July 22, giving them a 20% discount and 48 hours access before those who didn't sign up. The presale can be accessed by the website from Tuesday. The general release for tickets will take place on Thursday, July 24. Tickets will cost from £25 and can be bought from the link above. How long will the experience take to complete? The 4-5 km mission across Manchester will take between two and three hours to complete, allowing players to experience the city like never before, according to organisers. Players can expect to pass through famous landmarks, cultural hotspots and iconic pubs and cafes where escape-room-style puzzles await while interacting with characters on their phones, untangling directions and making crucial tactical decisions. Recommended reading: Race Across the World: The Experience coming to Manchester this summer Manchester Airport issues travel advice to passengers ahead of busiest summer yet Must-visit foodie spots you can fly to from Manchester Airport with cheap flights Who won Race Across the World 2025? Gaz and Yin were eliminated in the earlier stages of the competition, so four teams in the 14,100km (8,761-mile) race successfully crossed Asia, the world's largest continent, to make it to the finish line. Mother and son, Caroline and Tom, won series five of the BBC One show. Housewife Caroline, 60, and 21-year-old Tom became the first mother-and-son team to win after reaching the final checkpoint in Kanniyakumari, the southernmost tip of mainland India, to claim their £20,000 prize.
