She tried to smuggle $1M worth of crack inside Parmesan cheese

By Imogen Howse

A woman tried to smuggle crack cocaine worth £800k (over $1 million) into the UK - by hiding the drugs inside a Parmesan cheese wheel.

US national Jamie Choi was stopped by Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport on May 25 after arriving on a flight from Brazil.

Officers asked the 23-year-old from California about a Parmesan cheese wheel she was traveling with, which weighed a staggering 8 kg.

Choi claimed a friend had suggested she buy the cheese from Lima, Peru, for them to try, but when officers examined the wheel, they found it contained crack cocaine.

Forensic analysis later revealed the drug to be 94 percent pure, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

The investigation was referred to the NCA, whose officers identified that Choi had travelled from Los Angeles to Lima on May 20.

The next day, Choi traveled to Asunción, Paraguay, and on May 24, she flew to Heathrow Airport after connecting through São Paulo, Brazil.

A notebook was found in Choi’s handbag, which contained a single handwritten memo dated May 21 – the day she left Lima.

It read: "I dropped out of UCSB [University of California, Santa Barbara] on Monday.

"Currently, I am in Paraguay in South America, solo travelling for the first time. It’s been amazing so far."

Choi, who was charged with importing Class A drugs, pleaded guilty to the offense at Isleworth Crown Court on August 6.

She was jailed for five years and three months today (August 12).

NCA senior investigating officer, Barry Vinall, said: "We’ve seen people trying to smuggle cocaine into the UK hidden inside all manner of innocuous-looking items.

"But Border Force and the National Crime Agency are well-practised in finding drugs, whatever the disguise.

"Smuggling drugs into the UK is simply not a risk worth taking – it has consequences, as seen in this case."