Canadian Volleyball Player Jailed in UK for Smuggling $1 Million Worth of Cannabis

Former Canadian volleyball player Raekelle Powell in a handout photo. National Crime Agency

A Canadian professional volleyball player has been jailed by U.K. authorities after pleading guilty to trying to import nearly 19 kilograms of cannabis into the country.

Raekelle Powell, 22, was sentenced to 15 months in prison on Oct. 24 for attempting to smuggle a cannabis-packed suitcase into London’s Heathrow Airport on Sept. 20, according to a press release by the U.K. anti-organized crime National Crime Agency (NCA).

Powell began her trip in Toronto and was paid $300 to carry the suitcase, according to the agency. The drugs had an estimated street value of £600,000—approximately CA$1 million.

“These sentences should act as a stark warning to anybody thinking of smuggling cannabis into the U.K.–you will be arrested, prosecuted and put into prison,” said NCA senior investigating officer Piers Phillips in a statement.

“The gangs responsible for this trade have no concern for the fate of the couriers they employ to smuggle the drugs. All they care about is maximizing profit and making their criminal enterprises viable.”

Officials said they have seized three times the amount of cannabis this year as in 2023.

Powell represented Canada on the international stage as part of the Canadian team that won a silver medal in the 2018 Girls’ Youth NORCECA Volleyball Championship held by the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation.

Powell’s sentencing follows news last month that former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan James Wedding is wanted by the FBI in connection with a double homicide linked to a transnational drug trafficking operation.

UK Sees Rise in Cannabis Smuggling

On Aug. 28, the NCA warned passengers arriving from Canada, Thailand, and the U.S. that they could face jail if caught importing cannabis. Officials reported a “huge increase” in cannabis smuggling arrests, with 378 arrests in the first eight months of this year, up from 136 last year.

By August this year, U.K. authorities had detained 75 smugglers from Canada, up from 24 last year.

Most people used as drug couriers were told by their recruiters that they would only risk a fine if caught, officials said. However, cannabis importation in the U.K. can lead to a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

“The increase in these seizures is fuelled by organised crime gangs who have access to cannabis grown overseas, in locations where it is legal,” said the NCA in its recent press release.

Two days after Powell was detained at the airport, two people arriving from Bangkok were caught trying to smuggle cannabis.

Siobhan McAtavey, 24, from Northern Ireland, was carrying nearly C$2 million worth of cannabis in her luggage. Malaysian national Meu Chew Wong, 42, arrived in London with a similar amount in two suitcases. They were sentenced to 20 months and 16 months in jail, respectively.