A Glasgow-based social media personality faces imprisonment following her conviction for attempting to import cannabis valued at up to £151,000 through Edinburgh Airport last month.
Ellie Crampsie, 23, who operates beauty enterprise Brows by Ellie, entered a guilty plea at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday to charges of being concerned in the supply of class B drugs after Border Force officers intercepted her luggage on 16 April.
The influencer had arrived on an Air France service from Thailand via Paris when officials stopped her for inspection, discovering 17 vacuum-sealed packages containing 17.7kg of cannabis concealed within her bags.
Prosecutor Emma Laing described the interception, stating: “She was asked the usual questions by the officer and she confirmed she had travelled from Thailand. Her luggage was opened and a number of vacuum packages were within.”
Sheriff Graeme Watson adjourned sentencing pending completion of a criminal justice social work report and restriction of liberty assessment, warning Crampsie that “all sentencing options” remain available despite bail continuation. “That should be no prejudgment of what comes next,” the sheriff cautioned.
Defence agent Mr Hodge informed the court his client is currently single and receives “the benefit of the support of her parents who have attended court today,” characterising her previous criminal history as “unremarkable in the context of this offence.”
The case forms part of a dramatic surge in airport drug smuggling arrests across Britain. National Crime Agency statistics reveal passenger detentions for cannabis importation have increased by 3,625 per cent in recent years.
In 2022, merely 20 air passengers faced arrest for attempting to bring cannabis into the country. That figure jumped to 134 in 2023 before soaring to 745 throughout 2024. The first nine months of 2025 alone saw 680 travellers detained for cannabis smuggling offences.
Recent convictions include mother-of-three Nicole Hutchinson, 25, jailed last month after Manchester Airport authorities discovered £100,000 worth of cannabis she intended to use funding beauty treatments. Hutchinson was arrested alongside Kia Underwood, 28, carrying two suitcases containing nearly 50kg of the substance.
Former nurse Levi-April Whalley, 31, received a suspended sentence last year after attempting to smuggle over 35kg—approximately £160,000 worth—concealed in two suitcases on a New York to Birmingham flight.
Crampsie will return to Edinburgh Sheriff Court for sentencing following completion of the required assessments.
