Men smuggled cannabis worth £600,000 in suitcases from Canada to Glasgow

Two men who smuggled almost £600,000 worth of cannabis from Canada into Scotland have been jailed.

Jamaal Darbasie, 27, and George Manton, 19, were stopped by UK Border Force officers when they arrived at Glasgow Airport from Toronto on March 10 last year.

The pair, from Essex, were stopped by Border Force officers in the nothing-to-declare lane at the airport’s arrivals zone.

Their suitcases were searched and 120 vacuum-sealed packages of drugs, weighing 60 kilograms in total, were discovered inside.

Specialist officers estimated that, if subdivided, the Class B drugs would have a street value of £592,716.

Each of the cases also contained an Apple AirTag tracker device.

Darbasie and Manton were sentenced at the High Court in Inverness after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs.

Darbasie was jailed for three years, while Manton will spend 30 months behind bars.

Moira Orr, who leads on major crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “This was a substantial attempt to bring a significant quantity of illegal and harmful drugs through Scotland.

“Jamaal Darbasie and George Manton have now been held accountable thanks to an extensive Border Force operation, working with COPFS, to investigate and interrupt a network of drug supply.

“With each case of this kind we can help reduce the harm that these drugs inflict on communities.

“We are targeting all people who threaten communities across Scotland, not only drug couriers but also those who direct their movements.”