Kiala Wyles, 22, was given a break at Manchester Crown Court this week when sentenced for carrying 30 kgs of cannabis on a return journey from a three weeks holiday in Thailand. She was arrested at Manchester airport on July 24 when officers challenged her about two suitcases, vacuum-packed with the class “B” drug. She had been remanded in custody since her arrest.
Recorder Jeremy Lasker, awarding a two year sentence suspended for two years, gave a multiplicity of reasons for the non-custodial outcome. He said Kiala had had a stressful childhood and a father who had been in prison. The judge continued that the accused was full of remorse, had experienced financial problems and had once been thrown out of her home.
However, the Recorder did accept that he could be making a mistake in not sentencing her to several months, post-conviction jail time. But he felt there was a genuine prospect of rehabilitation after an unhappy past. Kiala had initially claimed she did not know the contents of the suitcases, but later said she had been contacted by “someone on social media” who had offered a free holiday in Thailand and a bonus of 10,000 pounds (430,000 baht).
The sentences for illegal cannabis vary worldwide. Laos, for example, can impose the death penalty and prison for 20 years is often threatened in MIddle East countries. Possession of cannabis is not in itself an automatic crime in Thailand, but selling or transporting the herb without a licence is illegal. Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office warns holidaymakers that a jail sentence may result after conviction in UK.
