A transgender criminal has been sentenced to 18 months in a male prison after attempting to smuggle 26 kilograms of cannabis worth £800,000 into Britain to finance gender reassignment surgery.
Keira Borrett, 46, from Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk, was arrested at London Heathrow Airport on 23 May carrying two suitcases packed with vacuum-sealed cannabis following a flight from Bangkok. The defendant, who was assigned male at birth but identifies as a woman, had agreed to transport the Class B drugs in exchange for a £10,000 payment intended for transitional medical procedures.
Isleworth Crown Court heard that Borrett encountered an individual from Essex in a Bangkok establishment where they discussed the prohibitive costs of gender reassignment surgery. Following this meeting, associates arranged for the defendant to receive two large bags delivered by individuals in a sports utility vehicle, which were then registered as personal luggage for the return flight to Britain.
Border Force officers discovered the cannabis haul during routine baggage screening at Terminal 4. The vacuum-packed parcels, with an estimated street value of £800,000, led to Borrett’s immediate detention. Under the arrangement, the smuggler was to deliver the bags to a hotel upon arrival and receive the promised £10,000 payment.
Prosecutor Sahra Ali told the court: “She was not under any duress, she did this willingly. There was an expectation of significant financial advance.” Ms Ali emphasised that Borrett had entered into the smuggling agreement voluntarily, without coercion from criminal associates.
The defendant has spent three months on remand at HMP Wormwood Scrubs, a Category B male prison in West London. Defence barrister Sebastian Cox argued that incarceration in a male facility had forced his client to “detransition,” dropping female pronouns and wearing male clothing.
“Every day in prison has been harder for her given her identity,” Mr Cox told the court. He interrupted the prosecutor during proceedings to request the use of female pronouns, stating: “Miss Borrett identifies as a woman and I’d be grateful if you could address her as such.”
The defence characterised the smuggling attempt as an “isolated” lapse in judgment driven by desperation. “The offer of money and knowing what it could have done for her life. She made a very silly decision,” Mr Cox said, adding that his client was “remorseful in the extreme knowing the impact this has had on her family and friends.”
Recorder Kate Aubrey-Johnson questioned Borrett’s claim that the decision was spontaneous, noting this was the defendant’s second trip to Thailand within several months. “Although you say it was an impulsive decision, the fact that you had travelled to Thailand before makes me wonder how much credibility I can give to that,” the judge said.
The judge acknowledged the “additional issues” faced by Borrett in prison but emphasised the court’s duty to send a “strong deterrent” message about drug smuggling. “This is an offence that is prevalent. We know that criminals target individuals to act as couriers,” she said.
Since Thailand became the first Asian country to decriminalise cannabis in 2022, British authorities have witnessed a dramatic surge in smuggling attempts. Border Force statistics reveal that 14,617 kilograms of cannabis were seized at Heathrow Airport last year alone, with 430 suspects arrested on narcotics offences in 2024.
The UK’s National Crime Agency has warned that organised crime groups are increasingly cultivating cannabis in Thailand, where high-quality strains can be grown legally at a fraction of the cost compared to Britain. This profitability enables criminal networks to offset smuggling expenses whilst minimising risks associated with operating UK-based cannabis farms.
Operation Chaophraya, a joint UK-Thai initiative launched in July 2024, has resulted in over 50 British nationals being arrested in Thailand for attempted cannabis smuggling. In February 2025, the operation seized over two tonnes of cannabis worth approximately £6 million at Bangkok Airport.
Alex Murray, NCA Director of Threat Leadership, warned potential couriers: “Crime groups can be very persuasive but the risk of getting caught is very high and simply not worth it. There are life-changing consequences.”
Thailand’s Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin recently announced plans to tighten cannabis regulations, including requiring prescriptions for purchases, in response to the smuggling epidemic. Since decriminalisation, over 10,700 cannabis dispensaries have opened across Thailand, with many concentrated in tourist areas.
The sentencing comes amid ongoing debate about transgender prisoners’ placement in the UK prison system. Since 2022, transgender women who retain male genitalia are no longer housed in women’s prisons except in the most exceptional circumstances. The Ministry of Justice declined to comment on specific housing arrangements for individual prisoners.
Neighbours in Gorleston reported that Borrett, who previously worked at Great Yarmouth’s Pleasure Beach, had recently launched a nail parlour business. The defendant entered a guilty plea to being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a Class B drug at an earlier hearing.
Anyone caught smuggling cannabis into the UK faces up to 14 years in prison for drug trafficking offences. The Border Force has emphasised its commitment to working with international partners to combat the infiltration of illegal substances and ensure justice for those who attempt to breach UK borders.
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