Malaysian Nationals Caught Smuggling $500,000 Worth of Cannabis At Glasgow Airport

A couple of Malaysian immigrants were caught at Glasgow Airport in Scotland trying to smuggle a couple of large suitcases full of drugs. While the men committed the act in April of this year, they've just received their sentences, which will make them rethink their international travel plans.

Shenanigans In Scotland

Border Force personnel stopped Vincent Chiamingsan (31) and Ng Zhan (33) at Glasgow Airport. Upon examining the duo's two black suitcases, authorities have managed to find 69 vacuum-tight bags of herbal cannabis, which experts at Paisley Sheriff Court say the entire pack is worth a street value of £343,080, which is close to USD 500,000. The drugs overall reportedly weighed 34.3 kg, or 75.6 pounds.

Zhan told authorities that the bag he was carrying didn't belong to him despite his name being printed on the tags attached to it. At a later point, he changed his story, explaining that the bag was given to him by someone else and that he wasn't aware of what was inside.

"At first, they told me the thing inside to bring in is birds nest, and they don't allow us to check the bag in Thailand, when checking in, so in Thailand, I met Vincent at the airport but they put both luggage in my name when it should be one Vincent and one me," Zhan told Govan Police. "I also been lied to by the people who said it was birds nest, I do not know what was inside I never get any pay for this." Chiamingsan declined to talk to investigators.
 

The cases cleared check-in at Dubai Airport. The men originally were on a trip from Thailand to Scotland to smuggle the cannabis, with Dubai, UAE, providing their connecting flight.

Both men have been in custody since May 1 of this year and have since pleaded guilty to "fraudulent evasion of the prohibition on importation" of drugs and to being aware in possession of cannabis, an illegal, Class-B drug in Scotland.

Their Sentencing

At Paisley Sherrif Court, Zhan and Chiamingsan were sentenced to 20 months in prison equally. Both men have been previously jailed for three years and four months for previous crimes. They are expected to be released from prison in May 2026.

Deputy procurator for Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) Sineidin Corrins commented on the sentencing: 

“Justice has been served and these individuals are now serving prison sentences...I hope that these convictions and the sentences send a strong message to others involved in this kind of drug-trafficking behavior and demonstrates the ability of police and prosecutors to investigate, prepare and prosecute crime of this nature.”
 

This hasn't been the only instance of smuggling through Scotland's airport, as earlier this month, soccer star Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and two other women were caught trying to smuggle 60 kg of cannabis valued at £600,000. Like the two men, these cases also came from Thailand, followed by Dubai.

The United Kingdom has documented that the number of drug smugglers found at airports has skyrocketed since 2023, as 378 arrests have been made, and 15 tonnes of cannabis have been confiscated so far this calendar year. In one day alone last month, 11 different British passengers flying from Thailand were stopped and taken into custody. The country has also logged many arrests of passengers who were also flying in from the United States and Canada.