Two brothers have been jailed after being caught trying to smuggle large quantities of cannabis through Manchester Airport, as senior police officers warned of a 'massive increase' in the crime.
Carl Threadgill, from Wigan, and Josh Threadgill, from Warrington, were both caught carrying suitcases stuffed full of the class B drug. A senior officer from the National Crime Agency revealed that more than 30 tonnes of the drug has been seized since 2022, when authorities experienced a huge increase in smuggling attempts from Thailand after the drug was made legal there.
Customs officers spot brothers
The brothers had appealed to be spared jail, but a judge said a deterrent sentence was required to put off other would-be smugglers. Prosecuting, Megan Horner told Manchester Crown Court that the brothers were spotted by customs officers within terminal two of the airport at about 9.30am on June 6.
Both had returned on the same flight from Thailand, and they were both found to have suitcases stuffed with cannabis. The drugs they separately tried to smuggle into the country both weighed just over 36 kilos. Ms Horner said that the total drugs, just over 72 kilos worth, would have a wholesale value in the UK of about £220,000.
Josh Threadgill, 33, appeared 'unsettled' in the terminal, the court heard, and the brothers also appeared to be 'exchanging glances'.
Claims of threats and debts
When he was later questioned by police, Josh Threadgill told officers that he had been offered £10,000 to carry out the smuggling bid. He claimed he was threatened that his house would be 'firebombed'.
Carl Threadgill, 36, told police that he carried the drugs intending to clear his £2,000 debt. The judge said that Carl Threadgill had been offered £15,000 to commit the crime. He told police that he had made a 'mistake' and that he 'regretted his decision'. Carl Threadgill claimed he had been threatened and 'feared for his life'.
Massive increase in smuggling
Charles Lee, a senior officer with the National Crime Agency, revealed the 'massive increase' in such smuggling bids since cannabis was legalised in Thailand in 2022. He said that prior to the decriminalisation, only 20 passengers had been caught smuggling cannabis. While last year there were 900 passengers stopped, with more than 30 tonnes of the class B drug being seized by the authorities.
The pair were charged separately and appeared before the courts, entering guilty pleas. Defence barristers for both the siblings appealed for them to be spared from being sent to prison, noting they were both in work and have young families. Josh Threadgill had no prior criminal history, while Carl Threadgill had two previous convictions, but had not committed any offences for more than a decade.
Deterrent sentences imposed
While accepting sending the pair to prison may have harmful impacts on their families, the judge, Recorder Ben Lawrence, told them that a deterrent sentence was needed to deter others from doing the same.
“Each of you imported in excess of £100,000 worth of cannabis which was going to be sold on the streets of Manchester, and quite possibly further afield in this country,” he said, addressing the brothers. He told Josh Threadgill: “The sad truth however is that the person to blame for this is you, and the decision that you made.”
The pair both pleaded guilty to one count of being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of cannabis. Carl Threadgill, of Wigan Road, Wigan, was sentenced to 26 months in prison, and Josh Threadgill, of Longshaw Street, Warrington, was sentenced to 24 months in prison. Both were told they could expect to serve up to 40 per cent of their sentence behind bars.
