‘Our hearts sank’
Two friends caught smuggling drugs worth £160,000 in their suitcases on a flight home to the UK from New York have spoken for the first time.
They have told of their 15-month ‘torture’ after being messaged on Instagram with an offer to travel the to Big Apple in exchange for a ‘simple favour’.
Sophie Bannister, 30, from Withington, Manchester, and Levi-April Whalley, 31, from Blackburn, told Border Force officials they had been on a three-day shopping spree in the US city when they were stopped at Birmingham International Airport.
Then their bags were searched and 35kg of cannabis was found. Some 70 heat-sealed packages were found stuffed in their luggage. Whalley, a court heard, insisted the parcels contained watches.
Text messages revealed the high-flying pals were part of a plot to bring drugs into the UK. They both later pleaded guilty to the fraudulent evasion of prohibition.
The pair documented their travels on their Instagram accounts before they were caught. They posted snaps from Thailand, Greece and Ibizia and tourist attractions like Times Square in New York.
In December 2023, Bannister and Whalley told Border Force officials they had been on a three-day shopping trip to New York. Then the truth became clear.
The ‘unbreakable’ friends sobbed and held hands as they were handed suspended sentences at Preston Crown Court this week. Bannister’s 20-month term was suspended for 18 months, while Whalley was handed a 16-month sentence, also suspended for 18 months.
The court heard both women were vulnerable to exploitation due to their personal and financial circumstances.
Now the friends have told The Mirror how they found themselves in the centre of a drugs scandal.
Their journey into the drug smuggling world apparently all started with one message on social media. “We got approached on Instagram by a girl I’d met in Marbella,” Bannister said.
“She asked if we wanted to travel to New York around Christmas. All we had to do was bring some watches back.”
The pals say they both had their own reasons for saying yes to what seemed like a dream deal. Bannister was in debt after moving temporarily to Dubai, while Levi wanted to escape from ‘personal issues’. And they saw the trip as an opportunity to travel.
“Back then I wasn’t even thinking about the consequences or the risk,” Levi said. “I’ve always wanted to go on to New York, since I was a little girl.”
They’d both seen other girls on social media doing the same trip – even down to the same flight and route – so went ahead with it. “We were stupid and naïve and vulnerable,” Bannister said.
The friends made the most of their New York adventure, seemingly unphased by the suitcases packed with drugs they were about to fly home with. In one Instagram story, Whalley shared photos on a bus tour of the American city and later at the Statue of Liberty.
Bannister posed with a Starbucks cup in Times Square. “You just enjoy the holiday and don’t really have to think about what you were actually doing,” Levi said.
Both women claim they weren’t ‘fully aware’ of the case’s contents. But a judge told the court: “You were both aware that, having travelled from New York to Birmingham via Paris, you had in your respective suitcases a significant quantity of heat-sealed bags containing 35.5kg of cannabis.”
Asked why they didn’t raise the alarm before travelling home with the drugs, Bannister said: “We were too deep in it by that point and they knew a lot about where we both lived, our families and stuff. It was very stupid. The biggest mistake. We’ll regret it for the rest of our lives.”
When Border Force officers opened their luggage, they found more than 70 packages of drugs inside. Bannister was carrying cannabis with an estimated street value of £40,500, while Whalley had a stash worth £121,500 – more than £160,000 in total.
Whalley recalls feeling like they were ‘being watched’ at the airport before the drugs were discovered. The panic soon set in. “We could have still probably chosen to leave the bags, I don’t know, but I think I felt we were just too far deep in it,” the 31-year-old said. “It was the panic. I do question myself now, like if we would have left the bags, what would the outcome have been then?”
Describing the moment they were caught, Whalley added: “I can’t even describe it our hearts sank. It was that moment you just, your life shattered. We were both crying, thinking, oh, God, what are we going to do? We just looked at each other and thought. What the f****, what have we done? What have we really got ourselves wrapped up in here?”
The friends were taken to a police station after being arrested. Bannister said that due to suffering a panic attack, she never saw the inside of a police cell, but Whalley was detained for 24 hours before they were both allowed to go home until their court date.
When they got home, their lives changed instantly. Bannister was ‘kicked out’ of her family home. Whalley lost her job as a nurse.
“I had a good career in the nursing sector, so I always saw myself just being this nurse,” Whalley said. “I’ve had to rebuild my whole life in the last 15 months, completely, from a career I’ve always been in since the age of 18.”
Over the last 15 months, the duo have come to terms with the consequences of their crime. Neither have committed any other crimes since.
Whalley has just become a mum to a baby girl. Her mum passed away last week, just before her sentencing. Judge Richard Archer took these mitigating factors into account when sentencing the pair.
He said: “This was not your cannabis, but cannabis you were carrying on behalf of another. You were expecting a significant financial advantage for doing what you did. You discussed it in relation to this 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 for 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.”
Bannister, of Cotton lane, Withington, received a suspended sentence and must complete 30 days of rehabilitation activities and 200 hours of unpaid work. Whalley, Livesey Branch Road, Blackburn, who was carrying the larger amount of cannabis, must complete 10 days of rehabilitation and 80 hours of unpaid work, also receiving a suspended sentence.
Since their sentencing, the pair have received a barrage of abusive messages online. “They speak about my daughter and even my mum who has just passed away,” Whalley said. “It’s evil. We’ve done wrong, but I’ve not murdered anyone. I’m not saying what we did wasn’t bad, because it still is.”
Taking to social media after walking free, Bannister said on social media: “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.”