The amount of cannabis seized from smugglers carrying the drug in suitcases to UK airports has tripled in less than a year, according to officials.

So far in 2024 about 15 tonnes of the drug has been uncovered at airports, compared with 5 tonnes throughout the whole of 2023, and 2 tonnes in 2022.

One hundred and thirty-six suspects were arrested in 2023, while 378 have been detained so far this year.

Officials at the National Crime Agency (NCA) say overproduction of the drug in countries where it has been legalised – and the chance of bigger profits in the UK market – may be behind the rise.

Passengers are being stopped with massive amounts of cannabis in their luggage.

Recent cases include Spanish national Fernando Mayans Fuster, 51, who was stopped at Manchester airport with eight suitcases containing 158kg of cannabis, after flying in from LA in May.

He was jailed for three years and four months at Manchester crown court on 19 July.

Another huge seizure was made at Birmingham airport on 9 August, when 510kg of the drug was found in 28 suitcases brought from Thailand via Paris.

Eleven passengers were arrested and bailed until 9 November.

This year around half of those arrested (184) travelled from Thailand, 75 from Canada, and 47 from the US.

There have been reports of couriers being paid up to £10,000 a trip, but they are wrongly told that they will escape with a fine if caught. The maximum penalty for cannabis importation in the UK is 14 years in prison.

James Babbage, the NCA’s director general of threats, said: “In some cases it is unclear whether the mules knew what the potential penalties are but in most cases they were operating on behalf of organised criminal gangs.

“And it is those couriers who are running the risk of a potentially life-changing prison sentence.

“Gangs can make significant profits by selling and smuggling perceived high-quality cannabis legally grown in the USA, Canada and Thailand illegally in the UK.

“We would appeal to anyone who is approached to engage in smuggling to think very carefully about the potential consequences of their actions, and the risks they will run.

“We know organised criminals can be persuasive, and offer to pay couriers. But the risks of getting caught are high, and it just isn’t worth that risk.”