Overview

• On May 27, customs officers at Vienna International Airport detained a 31-year-old Briton after uncovering 11.3kg of vacuum-sealed cannabis among his transit luggage bound for Newcastle.
• A British couple claiming to be tourists from Thailand were arrested at Valencia Airport with 33kg of cannabis packed in two suitcases after arriving on a flight from France.
• Santiago Airport police apprehended a 79-year-old British pensioner on May 27 when a scanner revealed five kilos of methamphetamine hidden in a secret luggage compartment.
• Earlier in May, teen nurse Bella May Culley was held in Georgia with 14kg of cannabis and former flight attendant Charlotte Lee May was arrested in Sri Lanka carrying 46kg of synthetic cannabis.
• The National Crime Agency recorded a fivefold year-on-year increase in airport cannabis seizures in 2024 and is partnering with Thai and Ghanaian authorities to disrupt organised smuggling networks.