A 19-year-old drugs mule caught with a suitcase full of cannabis at Manchester Airport claimed it was not his, but his messages proved more than he let on.
Carlos De Carvalho was stopped by Border Force officers on a flight back from Thailand via Doha on July 20 this year. In a large black suitcase, booked under his name, they found 32 packages of cannabis.
Initially he denied owning the bag, telling officers: "I'm sticking to my word, I have not seen this bag before." He was arrested, and admitted getting involved after meeting a school pal who offered him a free holiday to Thailand and £7,000 in return for bringing the suitcase back to the United Kingdom.
Damning messages uncovered
However, following analysis of his mobile phone, police uncovered a series of damning messages which showed De Carvalho was aware of the situation, but 'displeased and dissatisfied' at being offered less cash, and had people he could turn to if events 'popped off'.
Keira Shaw, prosecuting, read out a number of messages between the defendant and another person dubbed 'T-Money' on Telegram surrounding his trip to Thailand. In one message, De Carvalho wrote: "Broski, some guys trying to get man to fly here. Three days turned to a week. Man get seven to eight bills, plus two bags for the trip."
He continued: "Bro, Ibr [sic] only reason man came here because guy shouted me was n**** I trusted. Got to get back fast. Got to ask how much man's getting for flying this case back."
On July 16, he spoke with T-Money about trying to book an early flight back, and the following day he wrote: "Hope everything goes to plan, got my n**** on standby in case anything pops off."
Ms Shaw said that the messages showed that De Carvalho knew he was in Thailand to import drugs back to the UK, and that he was expecting to receive 'financial gain'.
Court hearing and sentencing
In a previous interview with police, the defendant said he decided to go to Thailand but didn't know what he was doing whilst he was there. He said he went to the airport and never checked the bag in, and had arranged for a friend to pick him up at Manchester. He also said he never intended to pick up the suitcase.
"He said he didn't tell the police because he didn't trust them, and said he had received threatening messages," the prosecutor added. Searches of his phone showed no evidence of threats or coercion, the court heard. "The defendant appears to be displeased and dissatisfied with the situation he is in. Perhaps it wasn't exactly what he was expecting it to be, by way of financial reward," Ms Shaw said.
Tanya Elahi, defending, said De Carvalho had not been before the courts before, and asked for a suspended jail term. She said he helps care for his younger brother who has autism, and is a university student studying business management and education.
"Part of the reason I have unease was from the Telegram messages. They don't give a flavour of someone who is naïve," said the judge, Recorder Brendan O'Leary. "In the messages, he has a contact, a man who is able to help with this kind of thing, to offer him more work or opportunities. My concern is he is more sophisticated than perhaps we might assume a 19-year-old with good character to be."
Ms Elahi countered: "He thought he was getting involved in things he could handle and he was mistaken in that."
Seriousness of drug importation
Sentencing him to a suspended sentence, the judge said: "People in your position are tempted by a large amount of money and the perceived lack of risk of being caught."
He outlined data which showed that the number of people being stopped at airports or ports bringing drugs into the UK has grown rapidly. In 2022, 20 people were stopped, and in 2025 there were 900, with 300 tonnes of cannabis being seized, he said. "That is why offending such as this is so serious, even for someone like you," he added.
De Carvalho, of Albuhera Square, Canterbury, Kent, was handed a 19-month suspended sentence for two years, 250 hours unpaid work, 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days and will be the subject of a three month electronically monitored curfew between 7pm and 7am.
