Ayub Qassim, the last person to see teenager Jay Slater alive before his disappearance in Tenerife, has married Paige Crisp, a 24-year-old convicted drug mule facing sentencing for helping smuggle almost £14 million worth of cannabis.
Qassim, 33, tied the knot with Crisp in a traditional Islamic wedding last year, with the ceremony reportedly taking place in Thailand, the same country from which Crisp and her gang smuggled drugs. She and ten other Britons were convicted last week.
Jay Slater's final hours
Jay, 19, was on his first holiday without his parents, attending a music festival, when he went missing in Tenerife on June 17, 2024. His body was found 29 days later, after he suffered a catastrophic fall on his way back to his accommodation following a night out with friends.
Qassim invited Jay back to his AirB&B on the island after a rave, sparking a month-long hunt for the apprentice bricklayer. He and friend Steven Roccas had given Jay a lift back to their cottage, but the teen set off for a bus the next morning with little battery on his mobile phone. He was discovered weeks later dead in a ravine.
Qassim's criminal past and wedding
Qassim, who served a nine-year prison sentence for drug offences, married the single mum in 2025 despite a trial hanging over her. In a series of loved-up photos posted on social media, she can be seen snuggling up to Qassim, who himself was jailed after masterminding a sophisticated operation to flood Wales with Class A drugs. The one-time ringleader of a London gang imported heroin and crack cocaine to Cardiff.
In one clip, he posts: "I never knew how powerful love was until it came to me, in the form of you". In another, she appears to be dressed for a wedding, with henna tattoos on the back of her hands.
Cannabis smuggling conviction
Crisp was one of 11 British nationals stopped by Border Force after a total of 460kg of cannabis was discovered in 22 suitcases. The group had travelled from Thailand via Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris before being arrested at Birmingham Airport on August 9, 2024.
Each member of the gang was carrying two large suitcases containing around 20kg of cannabis. The bags were so heavy that the group paid an excess baggage charge at Bangkok Airport so they could be placed in the aircraft's hold. The cannabis had a street value of £13.8m.
Crisp, from Malvern, Worcestershire, was convicted on August 19 of attempting to carry, remove, deposit, harbour, keep, conceal and deal with Class B drugs with intent to evade prohibition on importing. She was among the final three members of the group to be convicted at Birmingham Crown Court.
She appeared alongside Tasia Nelson, 22, of Newquay, Cornwall, and Jaden Ramen, 23, of Merton, London. Crisp, Nelson and Ramen are due to be sentenced on October 22.
Adam Chatfield, Head of Border Force Midlands Command, said: "These convictions should be a stark warning to anyone considering bringing cannabis into the UK. The young people involved now face a serious crime on their records, damaging their job prospects and life chances."
"More than ever, we are working closely with law enforcement partners in the UK and overseas to combat drug smuggling, keep our communities safe and our borders secure."
