A British couple who claimed to be tourists coming from Thailand have been arrested at a Spanish airport with more than 33 kilograms of cannabis in their suitcases.
The pair were remanded in custody after suspicious officers picked them out from other passengers arriving at Valencia Airport because of their ‘nervous and evasive attitude.’
The man and woman, aged 33 and 34 respectively, had arrived on a flight from France and were carrying two large pieces of luggage and said they had nothing to declare.
But when the bags were checked with X-ray scanners, security staff discovered that they were carrying no clothing or personal belongings.
The bags were instead packed with vacuum-sealed bags of a plant-based substance, which was taken to be tested and discovered to be cannabis.
They were arrested late on May 5 and were hauled into court the next day, accused of drug trafficking.
They were remanded in prison as the investigation continues, and are not expected to know for several months whether they will be formally indicted and face trial.
The case, which has only come to light this week, follows a series of arrests of British travellers who have been accused of transporting drugs worth up to millions of pounds.
It comes after a 23-year-old British woman in Ghana was arrested last week after being accused of attempting to bring up to 18kg of cannabis into the UK on a May 18 British Airways flight to Gatwick.
Ghana’s Narcotic Control Commission (NACOC), a government agency, alleged that luggage checks revealed the young Brit had hidden 32 slabs of substances initially suspected to be a narcotic drug in two suitcases destined for London.
A later field test proved positive for cannabis, with the drug weighing 17.72kg in total. She was arrested by officers at the airport and has been reportedly moved to the NACOC’s headquarters in Accra for further investigation.
Her arrest is the latest in a recent string of British female smugglers who have been caught illegally transporting drugs worth up to millions of pounds.
Earlier this month, Bella May Culley, 18, sparked a massive international search operation after she was reported missing while she was believed to be holidaying in Thailand.
However, it was later revealed that the teen, from Billingham, County Durham, had been arrested 4,000 miles away on drug offences in Georgia, allegedly carrying 30 pounds (14kg) of cannabis into the ex-Soviet nation.
And recently 21-year-old Charlotte Lee May, from Coulsdon, south London, was arrested in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo after police discovered 46 kg of ‘Kush’ – a synthetic strain of cannabis – in her suitcase.
The former flight attendant told from behind bars in brutal Negombo Prison that she had ‘no idea’ about the drugs, which were worth up to £1.2million.
She appeared at Negombo Magistrates Court on Sunday, May 18 and could face up to 25 years in prison.
The Ghana drug bust also came on the same day that officers were said to have arrested three people, including a young 19-year-old British citizen, allegedly found to have been carrying 53kg of cannabis across two suitcases on a return flight from Dubai.
Confirming the arrests of the couple in Spain, a spokesman for the Civil Guard in Valencia said: ‘The Civil Guard and Tax Agency have arrested two people on a flight from France for carrying more than 33 kilograms of vacuum-packed marijuana in their suitcases.
‘The two passengers, a British man and woman, were displaying a nervous and evasive attitude and were stopped before they reached customs control.
‘They said they were coming from Thailand and were entering Spain as tourists and had nothing to declare.
‘Following standard procedure, their suitcases were put through a specialist scanner which showed up a large amount of organic material in both but no clothes or personal belongings.
‘The cases were subsequently opened in their presence and found to contain a substance which tested positive in the cannabis-marijuana drugs test.
‘The drugs were subsequently confirmed to be 33,540 grams of marijuana.
‘The British man and woman were subsequently arrested for a crime of drug trafficking and remanded in prison following a court appearance.’
Their court appearance, which led to their remand in prison, took place behind-closed-doors as is normal in Spain where only trials are held in public.
The two British nationals are not expected to find out for several months now whether they will be formally indicted and face trial.
The ongoing judicial probe is being conducted by an investigating judge who will carry out his investigation in secret.
Defence lawyers acting for the Brits are likely to attempt to have them freed on bail in the coming weeks, although the amount of drugs they had in their luggage makes it unlikely they will be let out of prison for some time.
They can be held behind bars on pre-trial detention for up to two years under Spanish law.
A further two-year extension can be sought by prosecutors but has to be approved by a judge and would be unlikely in a case of this kind.