A 22-year-old mother has been given a suspended prison sentence after attempting to smuggle cannabis worth £285,000 into the UK, claiming she acted under duress after criminals threatened to kill her five-year-old son.
Airport Arrest and a Claim of Coercion
Poppie Kudiersky from Denton, Greater Manchester, was arrested at Manchester Airport on 2 February 2024. Customs officers stopped her travelling companion, 26-year-old Mohammed Jacfer, and seized two suitcases containing 28.5kg of cannabis in 57 vacuum-packed parcels.
The luggage tags were in Kudiersky's name. When police later arrested her at her home, she stated, "I never had a choice." In court, she pleaded guilty to importing cannabis but presented a basis of plea claiming she was forced into the act.
Holiday Photos and Alleged Threats
The prosecution detailed a complex case. Kudiersky initially claimed she had "reluctantly" travelled to Thailand to assist with a stolen credit card operation. However, she alleged that upon arrival, she was presented with the drug-filled suitcases and shown photographs of men outside her mother's home, where her son was staying.
She claimed she was warned the house would be burned down and her child killed unless she smuggled the cannabis into Britain. Despite these claims, evidence from her phone showed her enjoying a holiday in Phuket, including images of her on beaches, riding a jetski, and visiting the Phi Phi islands. Social media posts included captions like 'Blessed with the foreign skin that tans easily.'
Messages also revealed she was "trying to get a free holiday," and her mother had questioned how she was funding the trip. One conversation showed she accepted the seized cases were in her name.
Court Sentencing and a Soaring Trend
At Manchester Crown Court, Judge Hilary Manley sentenced Kudiersky to two years in prison, suspended for two years. She must also complete 15 days of rehabilitation activity and 150 hours of unpaid work. The judge acknowledged the defendant's claimed vulnerability but issued a stark warning.
Judge Manley stated that due to a dramatic rise in such offences, anyone involved in drug importation would now typically receive an immediate custodial sentence. She said the only reason she could suspend the sentence was because the crime occurred in early 2024, as the trend was beginning.
Her companion, Mohammed Jacfer, a Dutch national living in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, was jailed for two years at an earlier hearing after admitting drug importation.
The court heard alarming statistics from the National Crime Agency (NCA). Arrests of air passengers for cannabis importation have skyrocketed: from just 20 in 2022, to 134 in 2023, and 745 in 2024. In the first nine months of this year alone, 680 passengers were detained.
The NCA said this continuing rise places a "huge impact" on UK law enforcement and drains resources. Kudiersky has previous convictions for battery and cannabis possession.
