Smugglers caught with £5m of cannabis at Heathrow

AN investigation has begun after nine people on different flights were caught trying to smuggle large quantities of cannabis from Los Angeles to Heathrow Airport in their suitcases.

The suspects, who are all US nationals, were caught in the past week after arriving in the UK.

The first passenger arrived Jan 10 and was stopped by Border Force officers, who discovered around 30kg of drugs in their suitcase.

A second seizure was found three days later, followed by two more on Saturday, four on Sunday and a further one on Monday. In total, customs has seized more than 750lb of cannabis with an estimated street value of more than £5.5million. All nine suspects have been charged with attempting to import class B drugs and have been remanded in custody pending court appearances.

Investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA) are seeking to establish what is behind the sudden surge in drug imports through what is considered an unusual route.

Darren Barr, senior investigating officer with the NCA, said: “We are working to understand how these seizures are connected.

“To get this many off the same route in such a short period of time is clearly very unusual.

“Drugs couriers face stiff sentences so I’d urge anyone considering getting involved to think carefully.”