Ghanaian Teen in UK Escapes Jail Time After Being Caught Smuggling £225,000 Worth of Narcotics

• A Ghanaian teen in the UK, Daniella KanKam-Adu, who acted as a drug mule, has avoided jail
• The 19-year-old tried to smuggle 22.5kg worth of narcotics into the UK after a trip to Canada
• KanKam-Adu said she would have been paid £250 to smuggle non-narcotic items into the UK

A Ghanaian in the UK, who acted as a drug mule while pregnant to smuggle 22.5kg worth of narcotics, has avoided jail.

The suspect, Daniella KanKam-Adu (19), was spared after admitting she needed the money to pay for a deposit on a house.

Daily Mail reported that KanKam-Adu was offered £250 in return for smuggling £225,000 worth of narcotics from Canada to Newcastle Airport on March 3.

The 19-year-old said she believed her luggage contained vapes, but Border Force quickly found concealed Class B narcotics instead.

When questioned if she had unpacked her luggage for airport officials, KanKam-Adu insisted that she had, but nothing of concern was found.

What was Kankam-Adu's defense?

The defense lawyer, Glenn Gatland, in defending, said Kankam-Adu had a difficult childhood and spent time in a care home.

Gatland also added that before the offence, she discovered she was pregnant and didn't want the child to experience the same childhood she had.

The lawyer said the 19-year-old needed money for a deposit on somewhere to live.

He also described her as naive in agreeing to the suggestion of a friend to bring vapes back to the UK.

He added that she has been remanded in custody for three months, during which time she lost her pregnancy.

Gatland also noted that the suspect spent three months in custody and suggested that it would serve as a deterrent to her to keep out of trouble in future.

Ghanaian teen drug mule pleads guilty

The 19-year-old pleaded guilty to being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of the prohibition on the importation of narcotics.

Prosecutors accepted her basis of plea, which was that a friend suggested she could make money by helping to bring vapes back to the UK and avoid paying tax.

KanKam-Adu said she was told she would be paid £250 to carry out the act and went to Toronto on tickets given to her with some instructions.

She said she was given a suitcase to bring back to the UK and realised, because of the size and weight, that it did not contain vapes.

KanKam-Adu added that she didn’t know the value of the narcotics and decided to come back anyway as she needed the money and had a plane ticket.

She had been remanded for three months, during which time she lost her baby.

UK national arrested at Kotoka International Airport

Meanwhile, a major drug bust was recorded at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on Sunday, May 19, 2025.

Officers from the Narcotics Control Commission arrested a UK national attempting to smuggle a substantial quantity of narcotics into Ghana.

3News reported that the suspect, whose name has been withheld, arrived in Accra at the Kotoka International Airport aboard Emirates flight EK 787 from Thailand via Dubai.

Upon routine inspection, the commission's operatives stationed at the airport discovered two suitcases containing 92 slabs of narcotics.

According to officials, further investigations at the scene led to the identification and arrest of two accomplices believed to have been aiding the foreign national.

The suspects included a customs officer and a porter working at the Commercially Important Person section of the airport.

Ghanaian in US army jailed for smuggling

In 2024, YEN.com.gh also reported that a US Army major was sentenced to 70 months in prison for his involvement in a firearms smuggling operation to Ghana after he was found guilty last year.

Kojo Owusu Dartey faced years of supervised release for his crimes after being convicted of offences like conspiracy, dealing in firearms without a licence, and smuggling goods from the US.

The US Attorney's Office for North Carolina also noted that the Ghanaian played a key role in a marriage fraud scheme involving soldiers at Fort Liberty and foreign nationals from his home nation.

Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh