A man has been jailed for trying to smuggle around £430,000 worth of cannabis on a flight from Thailand, following an investigation by Scotland’s Organised Crime Partnership team.
Zane Jamahl Hutton-Lewis, 34, was stopped on 21 January last year as he tried to make his way through Glasgow Airport.
Hutton-Lewis, of Dongola Road, Haringey, London, had 43.8kg of the Class B drug hidden inside his luggage.
He was arrested by Border Force officers and an investigation was launched by the Scottish Organised Crime Partnership – a team of officers from the National Crime Agency and Police Scotland.
Hutton-Lewis was jailed for 12 months – reduced from 18 months for his guilty plea – at Paisley Sheriff Court on Friday.
His sentence comes after the National Crime Agency warned that Brits caught smuggling cannabis from Thailand will have to pay huge new fines or face up to two years behind bars.
The NCA has been working with Thai authorities to reduce the number of air passengers smuggling cannabis into the United Kingdom.
Fuelled by demand here, there has been an explosion in the number of drugs couriers trying to smuggle cannabis.
In 2023, 142 cannabis smugglers were caught arriving in the UK.
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.
Under the new fines regime, smugglers will have to pay Thai Customs 30,000 Baht (around £680) per kilo of cannabis.
The ‘average’ smuggler is caught in Thailand with 26 kilos – equalling a fine of £17,680, and, if not paid will lead to a criminal prosecution with up to two years in jail.
Beki Wright, Head of the NCA’s Borders Threat Team, warned would-be couriers – who are normally recruited on social media – to think again if they are tempted to smuggle cannabis from Thailand.
She said: “You will be kept in Thai detention until you have found the money to pay or for two years.
“The crime groups that paid you to smuggle it will leave you high and dry.
“If convicted, you face potentially life-changing jail sentences both in the UK and especially abroad. You’ll also have a criminal record, which could wreck future job prospects and your ability to travel abroad.
“It just isn’t worth the risk.”
The new Thai policy started on 17 June.
21 July 2026
