Criminal pals caught with 35kg of cannabis after New York ‘shopping trip’ say they were ‘stupid’ to smuggle drugs

TWO drug-smuggling pals caught with 35kg of cannabis at the airport after a New York “shopping trip” said they were “stupid”.

Glamorous Sophie Bannister and Levi-April Whalley have broken their silence for the first time after being sentenced for smuggling more than £160,000 worth of drugs.

MEN MediaLevi-April Whalley was handed a 16-month sentence suspended for 18 months[/caption] MEN MediaSophie Bannister was given 20 months suspended for 18 months[/caption] MEN MediaThe friends, both 30, were found with 35kg of cannabis worth £160,000[/caption]

The “unbreakable” friends both received suspended sentences when they appeared in the dock on Wednesday this week.

Bannister has now told The Mirror how they were targeted through social media.

“We got approached on Instagram by a girl I’d met in Marbella,” She claimed.

“She asked if we wanted to travel to New York around Christmas. All we had to do was bring some watches back.”

The pair, who were granted suspended sentences after a judge ruled they were open to exploitation due to their own financial struggles, said they took the offer because of “personal issues”.

Bannister revealed was trying to pull herself out of debt after relocating to Dubai went wrong.

Meanwhile Whalley was experiencing problems at home, and had dreamed of going to New York “since [she] was a little girl”.

“We were stupid naive and vulnerable”, added Bannister.

This comes after the women, both 30, were stopped at Birmingham International Airport with more than 35kg of cannabis in their bags.

On Wednesday, sitting side by side in the dock, the women held hands and sobbed as the court heard how they had attempted to bring the drugs into the UK.

In December 2023, Bannister and Whalley – both originally from Blackburn, Lancashire – lied to Border Force officials and said they’d been on a three-day shopping trip to the Big Apple.

But, text messages between them revealed they were involved in a plot to import cannabis.

They returned on December 9, via Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, but were stopped on their arrival into Birmingham.

Both women admitted they packed their own cases and knew it was illegal to bring drugs into the country.

However, when their luggage was checked, officers found 34 heat-sealed packages containing 16.5kg of cannabis in Bannister’s case and a further 39 packages containing 19kg of cannabis in Whalley’s bag.

The drugs in Bannister’s case had an estimated street value of £40,500 and Whalley’s were estimated at £121,500.

Whalley, a nurse who has since been suspended from practice, told officials she believed the packages contained watches.

But both women later pleaded guilty to fraudulent evasion of a prohibition and appeared at Preston Crown Court to be sentenced.

Since their arrest, neither has committed any other offences and Whalley has become a mother to a young baby, the court heard.

She also expects to be struck off the nursing register, the court heard.

Judge Richard Archer, sentenced Bannister, now of Cotton Lane, Manchester, to 20 months suspended for 18 months, with 30 days rehabilitation activities and 200 hours of unpaid work.

Whalley, of Livesey Branch Road, Blackburn, was handed a 16-month sentence suspended for 18 months, with 10 days rehabilitation and 80 hours of unpaid work.

Taking to social media after walking free from the dock, Bannister said: “Thank you for the people who have stood by us [during] truly the most mentally and emotionally challenging times of our life.

“Fifteen months of torture. Huge lessons learnt. A lot of tears along the way. But stood by each other’s side no matter what.

“A true friendship which will never be broken which was proven today, holding hands not knowing the outcome.

“Finally some closure and moving forward with our life.

“Ready for the biggest fresh start and realising how important freedom really is.”

MEN MediaThe women tried to claim they had been on a New York shopping trip[/caption] MEN MediaBannister has spoken out, saying they were ‘stupid and naive’[/caption] MEN MediaThey were caught by border officials at Birmingham International Airport[/caption]