EXCLUSIVE The US 'export' making millions for UK's gangs: How illegal drug is 'flooding' into Britain from America - and why the criminals could be set for huge profits
Donald Trump regularly complains about the illegal drugs 'flooding' into the US from abroad, but for one particular substance these roles have been reversed.
High strength cannabis is increasingly making its way to British shores, causing a major headache for law enforcement.
Seizures at British airports last year hit 27 tonnes - five times the amount in 2023 - with much of it coming from legal farms in America.
While some caught out are unwitting tourists, vicious organised criminals are also muscling into the market and generating vast profits in the process.
And they could receive a boost from an unlikely source - President Trump himself - with one narcotics expert predicting that the fall in the dollar caused by his tariff regime will make US-grown cannabis even more attractive to British gangs.
Peter Walsh, author of Drug War: The Secret History, described a 'very interesting' phenomenon.
Former Come Dine With Me: The Professionals winners Nicholas Panayiotou, left, and Eleanar Attard, right, were convicted of smuggling American-grown cannabis into the UK
'The US was always the market rather than the source of supply. So while they always grew large amounts of cannabis in the US illegally before it was legalised, that tended to be consumed at home,' he told MailOnline.
'These exports from America will be a response to supply and demand. There's clearly an oversupply in the states and a demand in Europe. If there's a glut it makes financial sense to export it.'
Mr Walsh predicted that the market may continue to grow in the coming months.
'It might also be interesting to see the way that dollar pricing affects it - the collapse of the dollar against the pound following Trump's tariffs could mean you start to see this more,' he said.
As so often with drug crime, the type of people seizing the chance to make money from US-grown cannabis do not always resemble classic criminals.
They include Nicholas Panayiotou, 43, and Eleanar Attard, 45, proprietors of the Touch of Greek restaurant in Chingford, East London - and winners of Come Dine With Me: The Professionals in 2022.
The pair were traced by officers investigating a theft of suitcases and passports from two women waiting for a taxi outside Heathrow in 2023.
It later emerged the theft had been part of a wider conspiracy to use the two women to bring in 58kg (130lb) of California-grown cannabis before robbing it back off them.
Panayiotou was jailed for four years and one month in prison last year while Attard received a suspended sentence.
Another member of the conspiracy, Koby Haik, was sentenced to seven years in prison after he wielded a baseball bat at officers raiding his home before firing two shots of an imitation firearm.
The National Crime Agency, which typically investigates major drug seizures at airports, believes demand for American cannabis is driven by the perception that it is a higher quality product than that grown illegally in the UK and Europe.
Part of their strategy has involved warning potential couriers of the 'life-changing prison sentences' they face for smuggling the drug into Britain, even if it originated in one of the 24 US states where it is legal for recreational use.
Alex Murray, NCA Director of threat leadership, said the trade was attractive to organised crime groups because of the 'significant profits' on offer.
One gang busted by Greater Manchester Police were found with £500,000 in cash and a BMW M4 car.
Detectives targeted the group in a series of raids last year after 100kg of ultra-strong American cannabis worth £3million was seized by Border Force.
Eight people were arrested, aged between 18 and 52.
They were all charged and remanded shortly afterwards.
The legalisation of cannabis in Canada in 2018 has turned the country into another supplier to Britain's illicit market.
Those involved have included Raekelle Powell, 22, a professional volleyball player from Toronto, who was stopped at Heathrow with £600,000 of cannabis in her suitcase and jailed for 15 months last year.
Large-scale cannabis smuggling will inevitably continue thanks to continuing demand in the UK, where it remains the most popular drug among 16 to-59-year-olds.
Despite the rise in imports from North America, much of this continues to be grown domestically in illegal farms - often using slave labour.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
16 minutes ago
- Sky News
Met Police chief 'frustrated' at planned protest to support Palestine Action - as government moves to ban the group
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley says he is "shocked and frustrated" at a planned protest in support of Palestine Action. The demonstration, due to take place in Westminster later, comes as the government moves to ban the group under anti-terror laws. Activists from Palestine Action hit the headlines last week after targeting RAF Brize Norton and damaging two military aircraft in a significant security breach. 1:33 Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will update MPs on the move to proscribe the organisation, which would make it a criminal offence to belong to or support it. Sir Mark said that - until this happens - the force has "no power in law" to prevent the protest from taking place, but lawbreakers will be "dealt with robustly". He added: "This is an organised extremist criminal group, whose proscription as terrorists is being actively considered. "Members are alleged to have caused millions of pounds of criminal damage, assaulted a police officer with a sledgehammer and last week claimed responsibility for breaking into an airbase and damaging aircraft. "Multiple members of the group are awaiting trial accused of serious offences." He added that - while the right to protest is essential - "actions in support of such a group go beyond what most would see as a legitimate protest". Over the weekend, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he could not rule out the possibility of a foreign power being behind Palestine Action. Any move to proscribe the group must be debated and approved by MPs and peers. Speaking to Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News, former justice secretary Lord Charlie Falconer suggested that vandalising aircraft would not solely provide legal justification for such a move. 2:45 Lord Falconer said: "I am not aware of what Palestine Action has done beyond the painting of things on the planes in Brize Norton, they may have done other things I didn't know. "But generally, that sort of demonstration wouldn't justify proscription so there must be something else that I don't know about." Palestine Action has staged a series of protests in recent months - spraying the offices of Allianz Insurance in London, and vandalising Donald Trump's golf course in Ayrshire.
Sky News
16 minutes ago
- Sky News
Israel-Iran live: 'Bullseye!!!' - Trump claims Iran strikes caused 'monumental damage'; says he's open to 'regime change'
Donald Trump has asked why there would not be a "regime change" in Iran following US strikes, calling to "make Iran great again". Meanwhile, Iran's UN envoy says the current situation provides a "historic test" for the body. Watch and follow the latest below.
Sky News
22 minutes ago
- Sky News
Regime change: Is Trump about to 'Make Iran Great Again'?
👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈 The US bombs Iran. Three nuclear sites heavily hit. Cue condemnation from Iran - and promises of retribution. As the Iranian foreign minister heads to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin and discuss what to do next, we ask: what has happened, why did the Trump administration decide to take action, what's the response domestically and internationally - and what on earth could happen next. If you've got a question you'd like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@ Don't forget, you can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.
