School pals Lewis Ellis and James Poutch spent three-weeks in Thailand for a festival – they ended up in court after their bags were searched at Manchester Airport
Two British school mates who went away on a three-week party holiday in Thailand received a shock when they landed back in the UK.
Lewis Ellis and James Poutch were pulled aside at Manchester Airport and ended up in court because of what they brought back to the UK. Ellis, 20, and Poutch, 19, had travelled to South East Asia for the Water Festival, which is meant to symbolise new beginnings and cleansing troubles, in April. And customs officials in the UK found a total of 37 kilos of drugs in plastic-sealed packages in both of their suitcases when they returned.
Both of the young men were stopped after flying home from Bangkok via Abu Dhabi and were confronted by officials. Ellis was pulled over first and told customs officers he had been on a three-week leisure trip with a friend he knew from school.
When asked about the contents of his suitcase, the 20-year-old said: “I have cannabis in my bag, I may as well tell you because you’re going to see it.” 19.83 kilos of cannabis were found in his bag, reports Manchester Evening News.
Poutch was then spoken to by customs staff. He told them he packed his suitcase himself and was not looking after it for somebody else. Officers discovered 17.22 kilos in his suitcase.
Later in court, Georgia Kennedy-Curnow, prosecuting, said: “The defendant said he had lost his phone abroad and both defendants gave no comment in their interviews.”
Representing both, Simon Hustler said they had paid for the holiday and travelled there to attend the Water festival. But, while they were there, they came into contact with individuals in Thailand and they decided to transport the drugs.
Ellis and Poutch were handed suspended sentences as the judge dubbed the incident “naïve and stupid”. Sentencing, Recorder Geoffrey Lowe said: “You had an operational function in the chain, to courier these drugs into another country. This was naive and stupid for both of you – you exposed yourselves to the risk of imprisonment.”
Poutch, from Bradford, was handed 16 months suspended for two years and Ellis was given a 18 months suspended for two years. The young men were also both ordered to complete 240 hours unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
Hustler told the court: “The defendants would not seek to persuade the court that this was anything other than naked stupidity by two young men. Their families are in court today and are as livid as they were when they were before the lower court.”
He said for Ellis, who had eight previous convictions on his record, this was a “last chance saloon”.