A 26-year-old Nigerian, Gideon Oluwasetemi Olumoyegun, has been convicted in the United Kingdom after admitting to his role in a plot to smuggle cannabis worth £13.8 million into the country.
Olumoyegun, from Dagenham, was among 11 drug couriers arrested at Birmingham Airport in August 2024 after Border Force officers discovered 460 kilograms of cannabis in 22 suitcases.
According to the UK National Crime Agency (NCA), Olumoyegun and the other couriers travelled from Thailand to the UK on the same flights via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Each courier was carrying two suitcases containing about 20 kilograms of cannabis. The drugs had been vacuum-packed and concealed beneath a thin layer of clothing. Eight of the suitcases also contained Apple AirTag trackers.
While several members of the group were convicted on Wednesday following a four-week trial, Olumoyegun had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.
He is due to be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on September 3, while the other convicted members of the group are scheduled to be sentenced on October 22.
Paul Boniface, the NCA senior investigating officer, said the operation involved extensive planning to move hundreds of kilograms of cannabis into the UK.
He said the seizure prevented the group from making money from the illegal shipment and warned people approached to smuggle drugs into the UK that they risk arrest and prosecution.
The NCA said the investigation was conducted with support from Border Force, which intercepted the shipment at Birmingham Airport.
