Warrington woman given community order for 35.3 kg cannabis import
Shannon Bragg, 27, of Latchford, Warrington, admitted importing 35.3 kg of cannabis found in two suitcases when she landed at Manchester Airport from Bangkok on 2 June 2026. Manchester Crown Court gave her a 12-month community order on 5 August, saying time already spent on remand was punishment enough.
🇬🇧 Manchester Crown Court, Manchester · United Kingdom
- Arrested
- 1
- Charged
- 1
- Cannabis
- 35.3 kg
Shannon Bragg, of Slater Street in Latchford, appeared at Manchester Crown Court
on Wednesday 5 August 2026 after pleading guilty to importing cannabis.[1] The
27-year-old had landed at Manchester Airport on 2 June after flying from
Bangkok.[2] She told border control officers she had spent three weeks in
Thailand and had checked in no luggage.[2] Her hand luggage contained evidence
that she had checked in two cases.[2] The cases held 32 black packages with a
total of 35.3 kg of cannabis.[2]
The court heard that Bragg had been offered “a free holiday” by those above her
in the operation if she took the suitcases back to the UK.[2] Her lawyer,
Hailey Bennett, said “naivety, immaturity, and an element of grooming” played
into her decision.[2] Judge Nicholas Dean said people who go to Thailand
“either know or strongly suspect what they are bringing back”.[2] Bragg had
been held in prison on remand awaiting sentence.[2]
The judge said the offence warranted imprisonment, but that her time in custody
was “punishment enough for her”.[2] He instead sentenced her to a 12-month
community order.[2] The order requires up to 10 rehabilitation activity days
and a 12-month mental health treatment requirement.[2] The judge said it was
“a sadness” to see a 27-year-old, intelligent woman before the court.[2] He
said he was not convinced she was as naïve as she had indicated about what she
thought she was bringing back.[2]
Sources
- Woman smuggled cannabis into UK in exchange for free holiday. Chester and District Standard, 9 August 2026.
- Woman smuggled cannabis into UK in exchange for free holiday. Warrington Guardian, 7 August 2026.
Open questions the AI reported
- The sentencing date is given only as 'Wednesday'; 5 August 2026 is inferred from publication on 7 August 2026.
- The opening line gives 35 kilogrammes, the detailed account 35.3 kilogrammes; 35.3 kg is used.
- An earlier Warrington Guardian report on the same case (4 June 2026) described the charge as being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on importing a class B drug and named a co-defendant charged in the same investigation; the sentencing reports do not give the co-defendant's outcome.
- Only a syndicated copy in the Chester and District Standard (9 August 2026) was found besides the Warrington Guardian account; no independent report was located.
- No street value was given for the cannabis.
- Woman smuggled cannabis into UK in exchange for free holiday (Chester and District Standard) could not be opened again to check its quotations (the browser-rendered page has almost no readable article text (it may require a login, show an access challenge, or contain only media); archived fallback unavailable (Wayback availability answered HTTP 429). No AI research was started); what it says is as the AI read it.