Woman charged over drugs haul found in luggage at Belfast International Airport thought it was 'Chinese herbal medicine'

Yanli Liang, 36, of Keadyville Avenue, is charged with possessing cannabis with intent to supply and possession of cannabis on Sunday November 17.

The defendant appeared at Antrim Magistrates’ Court, sitting in Ballymena, where she was assisted by a Mandarin language interpreter.

Objecting to bail, a police officer said at 10.30pm on November 17, airport police were made aware of a “strong smell of cannabis” coming from a suitcase which came in from a flight from Birmingham.

Police watched the defendant take the suitcase from a luggage carousel and then stopped her.

The officer said the accused said she didn't know what was in the bag and was paid £80 “to transport it to Belfast”.

She had no key for the suitcase. When it was forced open around 20 kilogrammes of herbal cannabis was inside in vacuum sealed bags.

When interviewed the next day the defendant said that around two weeks earlier she met a Chinese male in a bar in an area she called ‘Chinatown’ in Belfast.

The defendant booked a return flight to Birmingham and pre-booked aluggage back, claiming she planned to “bring back clothes from a friend's house”. She said it was her friend's birthday.

The officer said the woman claimed the Chinese male then asked her to “bring back a case of Chinese herbal medicine and he would give her £100 and reimburse her for the flight”.

She was told to go to a ‘shelter area’ in a part of Birmingham she knows as ‘Chinatown’ between 5-6pm on November 17 and someone would approach her with a bag.

The officer said the value of the drugs had to be decided but it “was going to be in the hundreds of thousands”.

He said the defendant had lived in the UK for six years including in Manchester, Birmingham and Northern Ireland.

He said she had been arrested in September this year in relation to “immigration offences” and had been in “immigration detention” in England and she was given bail when she “applied for asylum”.

A defence barrister said the defendant had no record.

He said the defendant believed the case contained “herbal medicine”.

He said the suitcase had been locked and she was unaware what was inside.

District Judge Nigel Broderick said they were “very serious charges” and he was concerned the accused would not return to court if released on bail.

Bail was refused and the case was adjourned to December 17.