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An influencer has been sentenced to 16 months in prison after being caught trying to smuggle £150,000 worth of cannabis into the UK.
Ellie Crampsie, hailing from Glasgow, was discovered with 17 kilograms of the Class B drug hidden in her luggage upon her arrival at Edinburgh Airport on April 16, 2025.
The 23-year-old, known for her presence on social media, had flown back to the UK on an Air France flight from Thailand, with a stopover in Paris, before being apprehended by Border Force officers.
In Glasgow, Crampsie was a notable figure in the nightlife and events circuit, promoting various brands and operating her own beauty business, Brows by Ellie, specializing in styling and treatments.
She alleged that a former boyfriend coerced her into transporting the drugs, and the sheriff acknowledged that she may have been “naive and potentially taken advantage of.”
Crampsie, of Broomhouse, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug at Edinburgh Airport when she appeared at the capital’s sheriff court last month.
She returned to the dock today for sentencing, where solicitor Michael Poggi said his client had played ‘a lesser role’ in the drug operation and there had been ‘evidence of pressure’ from others.
Mr Poggi said: ‘The fact is that other parties did not travel through [the airport] at the same time and did not make contact after.
Ellie Crampsie, from Glasgow, was found with 17 kilos of cannabis stashed in her luggage when she landed in Edinburgh on April 16, 2025
The 23-year-old, who is prolific as a social media influencer, has been jailed for 16 months for trying to smuggle £150,000 of the class B drug into the UK
‘There was an element of influence from a much older person who had a controlling position over my client.’
The court was told airport officials discovered 17 separate sealed packages containing 17.7kg of cannabis with a total value estimated at between £115,000 and £151,000.
In sentencing, Sheriff Graeme Watson told Crampsie: ‘You have pled guilty to by way of a section 76 of being concerned in the supply of cannabis, a Class B drug.
‘You were stopped by border control officers with a suitcase containing over 17 kilograms of cannabis in vacuum sealed packages with a street value of up to £151,000.
‘I have carefully considered the criminal justice social work report and the plea of mitigation on your behalf.
‘I accept the submission on your behalf that there was a lesser degree of culpability.
‘You knew your former partner had been involved in drugs and he asked you to check in his luggage that also contained female clothes.
‘Your role was one of carrying the cannabis in your luggage and I accept there was a power imbalance in the relationship.’
The sheriff added Crampsie’s conduct in carrying the drugs was ‘reckless’ but accepted she had been ‘naive and potentially taken advantage of’.
Sheriff Watson said he had no option but to impose a custodial sentence and jailed Crampsie for 16 months.
Previously the court was told Crampsie had flown on an Air France flight from Thailand to the Scottish capital via Paris and was stopped by Border Force officers on April 16 last year.
Fiscal depute Emma Laing said: ‘She was asked the usual questions by the officer and she confirmed she had traveled from Thailand.
‘Her luggage was opened and a number of vacuum packages were within.’
The number of Britons caught smuggling drugs back into the country from abroad has soared in recent years.
Recent figures released by the National Crime Agency revealed passengers caught smuggling on airlines has increased by 3,625 per cent.
As recently as 2022, there were as few as 20 air passengers arrested for attempting to import cannabis.
But in 2023 that figure stood at 134 and the following year 745 airport passengers were arrested.
In the first nine months of 2025, 680 air passengers were detained for cannabis smuggling.