A British woman has been arrested in Ghana after she was caught allegedly attempting to smuggle 18kg of cannabis on a flight to Gatwick airport in the UK. Jada Chyna Browne-Frater, 23, was stopped as she was set to board the BA flight from Kotoka International Airport, Accra, as part of a profiling operation by authorities. Browne-Frater was allegedly caught with 32 slabs of cannabis concealed within her suitcase, which has a street value of around £170,000.

Since her arrest, Browne-Frater appeared in court on Saturday, where she was held in custody. Another British citizen, Owusu Williams Christian, 19, was also arrested for drug smuggling offences at the very same airport. It was reported that Christian attempted to smuggle 92 slabs of narcotics into Dubai before being stopped at customs. There has been no confirmation as to whether the two offences are connected, however, Ghana’s Narcotics Control Commission said they were ‘resolute and committed to the fight against drug trafficking and usage in the country’.

The UK has seen a rise in similar arrests where British nationals have been caught attempted to smuggle drugs through airports. The National Crime Agency has even reported that almost 27 tonnes of cannabis was seized at airports across the country in the last year, with nearly half of the cargo landing at Heathrow Airport. As a result, the UK Border Force is proposing a new scheme in which individuals caught smuggling drugs could be sent back to the country of origin to be arrested by local authorities.

This new scheme by the UK Border Force could act as a deterrent for Brits considering the drug mule lifestyle. Charlotte May Lee, 21, is currently in a Sri Lankan prison awaiting her trial for smuggling a large amount of cannabis. If found guilty, she could face up to 20 years in jail. When she was arrested at the country’s leading airport in Colombo, she insisted she did not know how the drugs got into her bag. Lee has since spoken out from behind bars, claiming she has been forced to sleep on a concrete floor, with a bucket for a shower.

Another British woman, Levi-April Whalley, 31, who was caught smuggling drugs from New York to Birmingham International Airport, even offered her advice to Lee and Bella May Culley, also arrested for a similar offence. Levi, who also insists she was set up, believes the two women are “victims” of a set-up like herself, and also said: "If I had a chance to speak to Bella and Charlotte, I would tell them to just to tell the truth and be honest,".