Two Americans who were caught transporting cannabis to the UK on a flight from Los Angeles to London have become the latest US citizens to be jailed for smuggling.
Massa Momolu Talery, 35, from Pennsylvania, was detained at Heathrow airport last month after border agents found 20 kilograms of herbal cannabis with an estimated street value of £400,000 in his suitcases.
He admitted to importing class B drugs at Isleworth Crown Court last Thursday and was sentenced to eight months in jail.
Gerald Jean-Leger, 26, of Massachusetts, was caught with 60 pounds of marijuana in suitcases just two weeks earlier. He was given a ten-month sentence for the same offense the day after Talery.
Massa Momolu Talery (left) and Gerald Jean-Leger (right) have been jailed for importing class B drugs. Talery was sentenced to 8 months and Jean-Leger to 10 months
Dozens of young US citizens are going through the UK court system on charges of smuggling large amounts of cannabis from California, where the drug is legal. Pictured: Border agents seizing a suitcase full of marijuana
Dozens of young US citizens are going through the UK court system on charges of smuggling large amounts of cannabis from California, where the drug is legal.
Britain’s FBI, the National Crime Agency, said young Americans are coming from states where the drug is legal to sell it for a premium to underworld gangs in the UK.
Talery, a construction worker, was detained at Terminal 3 on February 4 after telling border agents he was visiting the UK on a two-week holiday.
But security opened his bags and found 20 kilograms of herbal cannabis that had been flown in from the states.
In his interview with NCA investigators, Talery claimed that he smuggled the drugs in to pay off debts.
Jean-Leger was caught on January 19 trying to smuggle 60 pounds of cannabis into the UK on a flight from Los Angeles. Similarly, the drug was packed in his checked luggage.
Isleworth Crown Court sentenced the couple to jail terms for importing class B drugs, with Talery given an eight-month sentence on March 9 and Jean-Legal jailed for 10 months the following day.
“Organized crime gangs need couriers like Talery and Jean-Leger to get their illicit substances into the UK,” NCA Heathrow branch commander Andy Noyes said in a press release on Monday.
‘Couriers are often recruited with promises of pay or free vacations. But in reality these attempts end in prison sentences.
He added: “I urge anyone considering smuggling cannabis into the UK, whether from the US or elsewhere, to think twice. It’s not worth the risk.
“The NCA and our partners in the Border Force are targeting drug traffickers and will do everything possible to disrupt the gangs involved.”
The latest smugglers to be convicted are just two of 25 US citizens caught allegedly trying to sneak the bulky Class B narcotic into the UK since early 2023. Pictured: Cannabis seized at Heathrow airport this year
Twenty-five American defendants, plus one Canadian, were caught carrying the vacuum-packed ‘unsophisticated’ suitcases (pictured) in checked baggage, barely concealing the drugs.
The NCA has warned couriers that they will face long jail sentences if they are caught smuggling drugs into the UK. Pictured: A suitcase containing smuggled cannabis
The latest convicted smugglers are just two of 25 US citizens caught allegedly trying to smuggle the bulky Class B narcotic into the UK since early 2023.
Another group of marijuana smugglers was arrested after arriving at Heathrow from Los Angeles between January 13 and 15.
New Yorkers Ara Janneh, 25, and Madani BA Junior, 23, as well as Texan Sabrina Desiree Hobby, 29, were jailed in the same court the previous month.
On January 17, three more were arrested, all aboard a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Heathrow carrying weed with a combined retail value of £1.7m.
Barrington Walters, 24, of Los Angeles, Mandy Silowka, 34, of Princeton, New Jersey, were also jailed in Isleworth.
Kiara Lanee Malone, 31, of St Louis, Missouri, is currently in custody until her hearing in the same court on April 5 after she pleaded guilty in an earlier hearing.
Malone told NCA officers that he was traveling to the UK for cosmetic procedures and someone gave him the bags, which he believed were full of clothes, but contained 27.5 kilograms of cannabis.
On January 17, three more were arrested, all aboard a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Heathrow carrying weed with a combined retail value of £1.7m. Barrington Walters, 24, (left) of Los Angeles, Mandy Silowka, 34, (right) of Princeton, New Jersey, were also jailed in Isleworth.
Kiara Lanee Malone, 31, (pictured) of St Louis, Missouri, is currently on remand pending her hearing in the same court on April 5 after she pleaded guilty in an earlier hearing.
Twenty-five US-born defendants, plus one Canadian, were caught carrying the vacuum-packed ‘unsophisticated’ suitcases in checked baggage, barely concealing the drugs.
As a result, a queue of marijuana smuggling cases is building up at Isleworth Crown Court, five miles from Heathrow in west London.
So far, eight defendants have been tried, leaving 17 cases pending hearing, one of which is taking place in Edinburgh.
Until recently, the vast majority tried to import the drugs on flights from LAX to Heathrow. As a result, border force officers have increased security on the flight path.
However, some have now started flying in from other states, police said.
Detectives said an average of 30 to 40 kilograms are being seized from Americans, with the largest bag measuring around 70 kilograms.
In January, the NCA issued a warning after 11 US citizens were arrested in eight days, transporting more than 400kg of cannabis between them.
Despite the tightened security at LAX, cannabis smugglers continue to pour into the UK, some working under the promise of a free holiday or money.
NCA could not comment on whether it was the work of a single gang, but is investigating whether the importation attempts are connected.
