A Malaysian couple allegedly caught with cannabis with £200,000 believed they were transporting “edible birds nests,” a court hears.
Standing side by side in the dock of Coleraine Magistrates Court, 25-year-old Ho Wen Feng and her boyfriend Jason Siong (36) confirmed they understood the three charges against them.
Feng, with an address in Kuala Lumpur and Siong, from Selangor, were jointly charged with importing cannabis, possessing the class B drug with intent to supply and simple possession of cannabis on 14 December this year.
Testifying that he believed he could connect the pair to the charges, an officer from the National Crime Agency told the court how ground staff at Belfast International Airport were unloading luggage from a Ryanair flight which had landed from Malaga when they noticed a “strong smell of cannabis” coming from a silver suitcase.
Having alerted Border Force officers, the suitcase was out on to the carousel and when the defendants collected it, they were arrested.
Once the lock was forced, officers found 26.7 kgs of cannabis in vacuum packaging inside and the officer said that giving a “ball park figure,” the haul was worth around £200,000.
Arrested and interviewed the couple gave broadly similar accounts that they are offered a trip for a few days and having met a man at a Malaga hotel, they were given two suitcases and told to bring them to Northern Ireland.
The couple denied all knowledge of the drugs and according to defence counsel Stephen Law, “they believed they were transporting edible birds nests.”
Commenting that their story is “so incredible…there’s a certain ring of truth to it,” the barrister said he had never heard of such a thing but as District Judge Peter King pointed out “birds nest soup Mr Law?”
“I don’t mix in the circles you do,” he replied and emphasising that the couple have nothing and know no one in NI, “it’s going to be a bleak Christmas and 2025 for them” if they are remanded.
He argued that despite NCA concerns that neither have any links to the north and they admit themselves they intend to go back to Malaysia as soon as it’s legally possible, Mr Law submitted they could be freed on bail with stringent conditions.
Judge King said however he had a case last week which “bares a striking resemblance to this case” so there was a potential fear that Aldergrove was bring used as a regular route for drug importers.
Remanding both Feng and Siong into custody, he adjourned the case to 7 January.