Devon Mum Amy Jayne Durban admits to smuggling over £500K of cannabis from Thailand into Heathrow in suitcases

A MOTHER has admitted smuggling more than 50 kilos of cannabis worth over half a million pounds from Thailand into the UK stuffed into four suitcases.

Amy Jayne Durban, 45, was told she faces a significant jail term after she admitted to one count of smuggling Class B drugs at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday, August 6 2026.

The court heard she was arrested at Heathrow Airport by Border Force officers on July 6 this year after the drugs were found in the bags after she flew in from Bangkok with another female.

The cannabis has been estimated to have a street value of at least £512,000.

In the days leading up to her arrest she had been posting holiday snaps in Thailand and four days before added a cryptic post on Facebook about grass.

It said: "On her way home to cut the grass if ya know what I mean 😂😂😂 no eta so you won’t know I’m about to hit your lawn 😂😂😂."

In December she had made an emotional post about problems with the vape business.

In court, Prosecuting James O'Connell, said: "The defendant came into Heathrow from Thailand."

The court heard that Durban had also travelled to Thailand in May, but there was currently no evidence of any smuggling on that occasion.

Her phone has been sent for forensic download and examination and remains in a queue, Mr O'Connell said.

The court heard her partner was in the public gallery to support her and the couple own vape stores.

The prosecution was opposed to her being bailed due to "the risk of the commission of further offences".

Durban was living with her partner at a remote address in Hemyock, Cullompton, Devon, at the time of her arrest.

Defending, Alexander Shanks, said she will be submitting a basis of plea that she was pressured and coerced into taking part and is naive and immature.

Mr O'Connell said without any evidence of coercion, this would not be accepted by the prosecution.

He said: "She was definitely a courier and was motivated by significant financial reward and hospitality."

The court heard that she had one previous conviction for battery from 2000 when she received a probation order for 18 months.

Mr Shanks made an application for bail arguing she was struggling with significant mental health problems while on remand in HMP Bronzefield in Surrey.

Judge Karen Holt rejected the application, suggesting she may be safer in prison.

She said: "There has been a very valuable consignment of drugs lost and you say she was under pressure.

"This is an extremely serious case and it could be a starting point of four years in prison. A valuable consignment has been lost and she has mental health problems and finds it hard in prison, but the court is concerned about further offences so she will be remanded following this guilty plea.

"I make it quite clear this is a significant large amount of cannabis and there is likely to be an immediate custodial sentence so I need to order a pre-sentence report."

She was remanded and will be sentenced on 14 October.

Fuelled by demand in the UK, there has been an explosion in the number of drug couriers trying to smuggle cannabis into the country.

They are usually approached on social media by organised crime groups who offer a ‘free’ holiday and spending money in exchange for taking cannabis home where other criminals will take the drugs from the courier and move them on.

In 2023, 142 cannabis smugglers were caught arriving in the UK by plane.

In 2024 that number rocketed to 801 – a 464% increase. The figure rose again in 2025 to 976. And 2026 is on track to be even worse with 600 air passenger couriers arrested at UK airports in the first six months alone.

Durban’s conviction comes after the NCA and partners in Thailand last month announced a new crackdown in the country.

Those caught trying to smuggle cannabis now face huge fines – around £680 per kg. The ‘average’ smuggler is caught in Thailand with 26kg – equalling a fine of £17,680. If it isn’t paid, the smuggler will go to jail for up to two years in Thailand.

Mark Abbott, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “There are really bad outcomes at home and abroad when couriers are caught smuggling cannabis. As well as time in prison, a life-changing conviction will damage future career and travel prospects.

“People should understand that these crime groups use profits from cannabis smuggling to fund the trafficking of other drugs too. All of those drugs fuel wider crime in our communities and have a toxic effect on people’s lives.”

The NCA has launched a new social media campaign warning young people that smuggling cannabis from Thailand to the UK could land them in a foreign jail.

The films will run across TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube and will direct viewers to Crimestoppers (www.druggage.co.uk) where they can learn about the dangers of carrying drugs for crime gangs, and how to report it anonymously if they have been approached.