Drug Duo Busted with £2.4m Cocaine Haul Hidden in Plane Seats
Errol Weir, 49, from Shifford Path, Perry Vale, has been sentenced to seven years behind bars for assisting pilot Anastasios Balian in smuggling 30kg of cocaine into the UK. The haul, worth a staggering £2.4 million, was cleverly stashed inside the rear seats of a plane.
Pilot Balian Gets 9 Years for Daring Drug Flight
Balian, the mastermind flying the plane, was slammed with a heavier sentence of nine years. The brazen smuggling attempt was busted in March 2025, narrowly foiled by Border Force and law enforcement.
Border Force and National Crime Agency Nail the Criminals
The pair were caught thanks to a sharp investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA). Border Force officers stopped the plane on March 20 at North Weald airfield in Epping, Essex, after it touched down from Belgium via Calais.
This bust underscores the UK’s ongoing crackdown on airborne drug smuggling and sends a strong warning to traffickers attempting to fly under the radar.
