Laura Banks admitted smuggling the large amount of drugs into the UK after she was stopped by Border Force officers
Laura Banks, who smuggled cannabis into Newcastle Airport
A woman caught trying to smuggle 16 kilos of cannabis through Newcastle Airport has walked free from court. Laura Banks brought the large haul of drugs back to the UK in her luggage after a trip to Bangkok.
it was on January 30 this year that Banks was stopped and questioned by a UK Border Force officer. She said she had travelled alone from Bangkok, via Doha and London, and said she was coming to visit a friend in Newcastle.
She said she had packed her belongings herself and denied having any controlled drugs in her baggage. When officers went to inspect her bag, they found it was locked. When asked for the combination, she claimed it was not hers then remained silent.
The bag was opened and underneath some brown paper, there was 15 vacuum-sealed bags, each containing 1.1 kilos of cannabis. When asked what it was, Banks said: “I don’t know, it looks like marijuana”.
She then gave a prepared statement saying when she handed the bag over in Bangkok, it didn’t contain drugs.
The 44-year-old, of Sheephouse Way, New Maiden, Surrey, who has no previous convictions, later pleaded guilty to being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion on the prohibition on the importation of cannabis. She was sentenced to 18 months suspended for two year with 150 hours unpaid work.
Recorder Caroline Goodwin KC told her: “Smuggling in around 16 kilos of cannabis is serious offending.”
Jason Smith, defending, said Banks had previously been subjected to domestic violence. Recorder Goodwin said her good character and guilty plea were the “saving grace” which meant she could avoid immediate custody.
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