‘I had no idea my suitcases were full of £15 million worth of cocaine’, claims Brit facing 60 years behind bars

12 November 2024, 07:56 | Updated: 12 November 2024, 08:58

A British beautician accused of smuggling £15 million worth of cocaine has claimed she was tricked into believing the bags simply contained “cash.”

Kim Hall, 28, saw her dream holiday quickly become a nightmare when she was stopped at O’Hare airport in Chicago while boarding a connecting flight to Manchester.

Upon investigation, Homeland Security uncovered a staggering 43kg worth of cocaine in her two suitcases.

Now, facing 60 years in a US prison, Hall has claimed she was tricked into believing the bags simply contained money.

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The 28-year-old alleges she was forced to carry the cocaine-filled bags at gunpoint after accepting a free holiday to Mexico by two men she had met just weeks prior.

Ms Hall also claims she was in the midst of a “manic episode” when she wheeled the cocaine into the US airport.

“I'm not a bad person. I've never been in trouble in my life and I'm not guilty of what they are accusing me of,” she told The Sun.

“They held a gun to my head and threatened to shoot me.

“I’m not a drug trafficker and I’m going to fight with every bone in my body to prove my innocence.”

After a week sipping margaritas in the sun-soaked holiday destination of Cancun, Ms Hall claims the two men asked her to transport two bags containing $250,000 in cash.

She continued: “I agreed to it because there was no reason not to. It was just money and I didn’t see anything wrong in it.”

“I had no suspicion that this was about drugs.”

But things got messy after Ms Hall missed a flight, allegedly leading one of the men to put a gun to her head.

“I was screaming at them to let me go. I thought, I'm going to end up dead if I don't carry this money,' she added.

As security officers found the cocaine, Ms Hall fell to the ground before being handcuffed.

Now on house arrest, Ms Hall and her family have called on the British government to do more.

Her father, John, claims she not guilty of any crime apart from being “stupid and naive.”

He said: “She's not a drug smuggler. She was told that it would be money she was carrying.“They got her phone and threatened her family and that's why she did it.

“She'd been to Portugal with a friend and met people over there who contacted her when she was back saying they were into real estate in Mexico and she could go for a free holiday.”

He told the outlet she is “petrified” of the two men.

Ms Hall is facing Class X felony charges and could spend 15-60 years behind bars.