Influencer, 23, is jailed for trying to smuggle £150K cannabis into UK

An influencer who was caught attempting to smuggling £150,000 of cannabis into the UK has been jailed for 16 months.  

Ellie Crampsie, from Glasgow, was found with 17 kilos of the Class B drug stashed in her luggage when she landed at Edinburgh Airport on April 16 2025.

The 23-year-old, prolific on social media, had returned on an Air France flight from Thailand via Paris before being stopped by Border Force officers. 

The influencer had been prominent in the Glasgow nightlife and events scene where she promoted several brands as well as also running her own beauty business called Brows by Ellie, specialising in styling and treatments. 

She claimed she was forced into carrying the large drug haul by a former boyfriend and a sheriff accepted she had been ‘naive and potentially taken advantage of’.     

Crampsie, of Broomhouse, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug at Edinburgh Airport when she appeared at the capital’s sheriff court last month.

She returned to the dock today for sentencing, where solicitor Michael Poggi said his client had played ‘a lesser role’ in the drug operation and there had been ‘evidence of pressure’ from others.

Mr Poggi said: ‘The fact is that other parties did not travel through [the airport] at the same time and did not make contact after.

Influencer Ellie Crampsie has been jailed for 16 months for trying to smuggle cannabis worth £150,000 through Edinburgh Airport – she is pictured today outside Edinburgh Sheriff Court

The social media influencer was found with 17 kilos of cannabis stashed in her luggage when she landed in Edinburgh on April 16 2025 

‘There was an element of influence from a much older person who had a controlling position over my client.’

The court was told airport officials discovered 17 separate sealed packages containing 17.7kg of cannabis with a total value estimated at between £115,000 and £151,000.

In sentencing, Sheriff Graeme Watson told Crampsie: ‘You have pled guilty to by way of a section 76 of being concerned in the supply of cannabis, a Class B drug.

‘You were stopped by border control officers with a suitcase containing over 17 kilograms of cannabis in vacuum sealed packages with a street value of up to £151,000.

‘I have carefully considered the criminal justice social work report and the plea of mitigation on your behalf.

‘I accept the submission on your behalf that there was a lesser degree of culpability.

‘You knew your former partner had been involved in drugs and he asked you to check in his luggage that also contained female clothes.

‘Your role was one of carrying the cannabis in your luggage and I accept there was a power imbalance in the relationship.’

Crampsie, 23, who is prolific as a social media influencer, claimed she was forced into carrying the drugs under ‘influence from a much older person’, her lawyer told the court

The sheriff added Crampsie’s conduct in carrying the drugs was ‘reckless’ but accepted she had been ‘naive and potentially taken advantage of’.

Sheriff Watson said he had no option but to impose a custodial sentence and jailed Crampsie for 16 months.

Previously the court was told Crampsie had flown on an Air France flight from Thailand to the Scottish capital via Paris and was stopped by Border Force officers on April 16 last year.

Fiscal depute Emma Laing said: ‘She was asked the usual questions by the officer and she confirmed she had traveled from Thailand.

‘Her luggage was opened and a number of vacuum packages were within.’ 

The number of Britons caught smuggling drugs back into the country from abroad has soared in recent years.

Recent figures released by the National Crime Agency revealed passengers caught smuggling on airlines has increased by 3,625 per cent.

As recently as 2022, there were as few as 20 air passengers arrested for attempting to import cannabis.

But in 2023 that figure stood at 134 and the following year 745 airport passengers were arrested.

In the first nine months of 2025, 680 air passengers were detained for cannabis smuggling.