The UK Home Office has warned young travellers not to jeopardise their futures by accepting offers of free holidays or luxury trips from criminal gangs seeking to recruit drug couriers.
The warning released on July 17, 2026 on its website, issued by Border Force ahead of the peak summer holiday season, comes amid a sharp rise in cannabis smuggling through UK airports, with organised crime groups increasingly targeting school and university leavers, first-time travellers and young holidaymakers through social media.
According to the Home Office, the number of cannabis smugglers intercepted on arrival in the UK by air increased from 142 in 2023 to 976 in 2025.
In the first six months of 2026 alone, 600 air passenger couriers were arrested at UK airports, with men aged between 18 and 37 travelling from Thailand accounting for the largest group.
Border Force said criminal gangs “entice victims with promises of free luxury holidays, business-class flights and spending money” before coercing them into carrying cannabis into the UK.
