FOREIGNERS caught smuggling cannabis into Heathrow are having their drugs seized and are immediately deported under new rules.
The seize and return pilot scheme led by UK Border Force and the National Crime Agency means the drug mules are not arrested in this country.
Instead, they will be sent straight back home, where it is understood the authorities there will deal with them.
The trial began last Monday and is expected to run for three months.
It will keep foreign criminals out of UK prisons and avoid taxpayers having to foot the bill.
It could be rolled out across all UK airports, if successful.
The move comes amid a huge influx of dangerous and highly addictive Kush cannabis into Britain.
The cheap, synthetic drug is cut with additives including acetone, the opioid tramadol, and formalin — a toxic chemical commonly used to preserve bodies in mortuaries.
It has claimed the lives of thousands in West Africa since appearing there in 2022, before spreading around the world.
In recent weeks, a string of young people have been caught trying to smuggle the drug into the UK, mostly from Thailand, where cannabis is legal.
Criminal gangs previously relied on postal deliveries to get the drugs here.
But cannabis arrivals by mail from Thailand plummeted by 90 per cent in the first three months of this year, thanks to a new partnership between UK Border Force and Thai customs.
Now, gangs are offering free paradise holidays, with unlimited booze, drugs and £2,000-plus in cash, to young people willing to be drugs mules.
Since July, 800 people, including 50 from Britain, have been detained in Thailand for alleged drug smuggling, with more than nine tons of cannabis seized.
The Home Office confirmed it was booting out foreign smugglers trying to bring in “small quantities” — but has not said exactly how much.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Record drug seizures are being made as Border Force continues to keep our borders secure and our streets safe by taking a zero-tolerance approach to illegal drug smuggling.
“New approaches are also being developed to enable the immediate removal of any foreign nationals caught trying to smuggle small amounts of cannabis into the country.
“We want those smugglers to be barred from Britain without becoming a burden on the taxpayer, while law enforcement stays focused on disrupting the most serious organised crime gangs.”
AlamyForeigners caught smuggling cannabis into Heathrow are having their drugs seized and are immediately deported under new rules[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
