4 London men charged after cannabis worth £13.8 million seized at airport
They were arrested alongside seven others
Four men from London have been charged after allegedly attempting to smuggle more than half a tonne of cannabis into the UK. Ryan Boachie, 31, of Edmonton, Jaden Ramen, 22, of Colliers Wood, Carsten Kyei, 21, of Newham and Gideon Olumoyegun, 25, of Dagenham, are accused of being part of a group who packed the drugs into 22 separate suitcases.
The haul, thought to have a street value of £13.8 million, was later seized by Border Force officers at Birmingham Airport in August 2024. A further seven people were also charged as part of an ongoing investigation, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
Aged between 21 and 35, each of them had travelled to the UK from Thailand via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. This included both men and women, with suspects hailing from Cornwall, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Worcestershire, Hertfordshire and Birmingham.
Those charged were: Tasia Nelson, 21, of Cheviot Road, Newquay, Lewis Ross, 35, of Rupert Street, Bolton, Bradley Lloyd, 27, of Midbrook Walk, Wythenshawe, Clare McCullogh, 35, of Meliden Crescent, Wythenshawe, Paige Cheri Crisp, 24, of Grindrod Place, Malvern, Nathan Vitorino, 25, of Little Hardings, Welwyn Garden City and Jamal Clarke, 21, of Holloway Circus, Queensway.
Nine appeared at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court yesterday (October 31) where they were bailed until their next appearance at Birmingham Crown Court on November 28. Clare McCullogh’s magistrates’ court hearing was adjourned until December 5, while magistrates issued a warrant for Bradley Lloyd’s arrest after he failed to appear in court.
Six men suspected of organising the attempted importation, five of whom were arrested at addresses in Finchley, Marsh Farm and Luton on October 23 last year, remain under investigation.
NCA branch commander Kevin Broadhead said: "This was an enormous amount of cannabis to be seized from air passengers and would have been extremely profitable for organised crime gangs had it remained undetected.
“The charges brought against these individuals are an important moment in our investigation, which remains ongoing.
“Anyone who is asked to smuggle drugs into the UK should think very carefully about the potential consequences if caught.
“The chances of getting caught are high, and it just isn’t worth that risk.”
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