Friends caught with £162k of drugs at Birmingham Airport after New York trip

Sophie Bannister and Levi-April Whalley held hands and sobbed in court

Friends who were caught with £162,000 worth of drugs at birmingham -airport>Birmingham Airport have walked free from court.

Sophie Bannister and Levi-April Whalley held hands and sobbed in court as details of their plot to bring drugs into the UK were revealed.

The pair - who are said to have an 'unbreakable friendship' - were stopped at the airport with more than 35kg of cannabis packed into their suitcases.

They claimed to have just returned from a three-day shopping trip to New York but were actually hoping to sneak the drugs into the country for a 'significant financial advantage'.

Taking to social media after avoiding jail, Bannister said: "Thank you for the people who have stood by us [during] truly the most mentally and emotionally challenging times of our life.

"15 months of torture. HUGE lessons learnt. A LOT of tears along the way. But stood by each others side no matter what.

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"A true friendship which will never be broken which was proven today holding hands not knowing the outcome.

"Finally some closure and moving forward with our life.

"Ready for the biggest fresh start and realising how important freedom really is.

"Levi Whalley no matter what people have said we really have an unbreakable friendship."

Preston Crown Court heard how Bannister and Whalley travelled from New York in December 2023, LancsLive reports.

They took a flight via Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport to Birmingham International Airport, where they were stopped.

The defendants, both 30, told Border Force officials they had been on a three-day shopping trip to New York.

Both said they had packed their own cases and confirmed they knew it was illegal to bring drugs into the country.

But 34 heat sealed packages containing 16.5kg of cannabis was found in Bannister's case - with an estimated street value of £40,500.

A further 39 packages containing 19kg of cannabis worth an estimated at £121,500 was found in Whalley's suitcase, the court heard.

Whalley told officials she thought the packages contained watches.

But text messages between them later revealed they had been involved in a plot to import cannabis - and expected to make a lot of money from their exploits.

Both convicts admitted fraudulent evasion of a prohibition.

The court heard how both women were described as vulnerable to exploitation due to their own personal and financial circumstances.

Since their arrest, neither has committed any other offences.

New mum Whalley has since been suspended from her role as a nurse and expects to be struck off the nursing register.

Sentencing on Wednesday, April 2, Judge Richard Archer said: "You were both aware that having travelled from New York to Birmingham via Paris that you had in your respective suitcases a significant quantity of heat sealed bags, containing 35.5kg of cannabis.

"This was not your cannabis but cannabis you were carrying on behalf of another but you were expecting significant financial advantage for doing what you did.

"You discussed it in relation to this particular trip to New York, with a clear view of the money you were going to make from behaving this way.

"You perhaps had little regard to the seriousness or consequences of your offending.

"It must have been in the back of your mind that you would be caught but you probably thought very little about sitting in the dock this afternoon.

"I very much hope that you don't involve yourselves in this behaviour again."

Bannister, formerly of Blackburn but now of Cotton Lane, Manchester, was handed a 20-month sentence, suspended for 18 months.

She was also made subject to a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement and 200 hours of unpaid work.

Whalley, of Livesey Branch Road, Blackburn, was handed a 16-month sentence, suspended for 18 months.

She was also made subject to a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement and 80 hours of unpaid work.