Jet-setting lives of drug mule pals who flaunted lavish trips before '15-month torture'

Two women caught smuggling drugs into the UK flaunted their glamorous lifestyles, posting pictures of lavish holidays around the and high-end shopping trips. Sophie Bannister and Levi-April Whalley, both 30, sobbed in the dock after a court heard they had brought more than 35kg of back to the UK from the US.

The friends told Border Force officials at Airport they had been on a three-day shopping trip to New York, and even when officers found more than 70 heat-sealed packages inside, Whalley insisted they contained watches. But instead, there was more than £160,000 of the drugs inside, and Bannister later pleaded guilty to the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition.

The women both burst into tears when they were handed 18-month suspended sentences at Preston Crown Court on Wednesday. Afterwards, Bannister took to social media, describing the “unbreakable friendship” she has with Whalley.

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But their social media accounts also reveal the jet-setting lives the pair had enjoyed prior to their arrests, including snaps of themselves visiting tourist sites in New York, the last trip they made before they flew home with their suitcases stuffed with cannabis.

In one story, Whalley shares photos on a bus tour of the American city, and later at the Statue of Liberty. Bannister, meanwhile, poses with a Starbucks cup in the famous Times Square.

Other photos show the pair enjoying the sun and beaches in holiday destinations around the world. One photo shows Whalley in a tartan bikini relaxing on a beach in Thailand, while Whalley, a former nurse, posing in a bright green bikini at the front of a boat in same country, in front of an idyllic turquoise cove.

Other posts show the women on trips to places like Marbella, Ibiza and , where the pair travelled in 2023. Bannister and Whalley, both originally from Blackburn, Lancashire, became involved in a plot to import cannabis - and expected to make a lot of money from their exploits.

The 16.5kg of cannabis in Bannister's case had an estimated street value of £40,500. Whalley's 19kg was estimated at £121,500, the judge at Preston Crown Court heard. Since her arrest, Whalley has since been suspended from her job as a nurse and now expects to be struck off the nursing register.

The court heard both women were vulnerable to exploitation due to their own personal and financial circumstances. Since their arrest, neither has committed any other offences and Whalley has become a mother to a young baby, the court heard.

Judge Richard Archer took these mitigating factors into account when sentencing the friends on Wednesday. He said: "You were both aware that having travelled from New York to Birmingham via Paris that you had in your respective suitcases a significant quantity of heat sealed bags, containing 35.5kg of cannabis.

"This was not your cannabis but cannabis you were carrying on behalf of another but you were expecting significant financial advantage for doing what you did. You discussed it in relation to this particular trip to New York, with a clear view of the money you were going to make from behaving this way.

"You perhaps had little regard to the seriousness or consequences of your offending. It must have been in the back of your mind that you would be caught but you probably thought very little about sitting in the dock this afternoon. I very much hope that you don't involve yourselves in this behaviour again."

In addition to the suspended sentence, Bannister, who now lives in Withington, , must complete 30 days of rehabilitation activities and 200 hours of unpaid work and Whalley, who still resides in Blackburn, must carry out 10 days of rehabilitation and 80 hours of unpaid work.

Writing on social media after walking free from the dock, Bannister said in full: "Thank you for the people who have stood by us [during] truly the most mentally and emotionally challenging times of our life. 15 months of torture. HUGE lessons learnt. A LOT of tears along the way. But stood by each others 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. Levi Whalley no matter what people have said we really have an unbreakable friendship."