A British man arrested at Istanbul Airport with cannabis worth an estimated GBP280,000 in his suitcase is facing a minimum prison sentence of ten years in Turkey. Taylor Johnson, 21, from Wednesbury in the West Midlands, was stopped on 26 April while travelling from Thailand to the UK via Istanbul with his girlfriend, Holly Cooper, 21.
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Investigators discovered 19.2kg of cannabis packed in 17 black vacuum-sealed bags after a sniffer dog alerted officers to Johnson’s luggage. Although Cooper was arrested alongside him, no drugs or illegal items were found in her suitcase.
The couple appeared before the Gaziosmanpasa Criminal Court in Istanbul last week. Prosecutors asked the court to convict both defendants of “manufacturing and trafficking narcotic or psychotropic substances”, an offence carrying a minimum sentence of ten years.
Johnson told the court he had been forced into transporting the suitcase and claimed he was unaware it contained drugs. Speaking through an interpreter, he said a man who had obtained his details following a car accident threatened him and his family, demanded GBP3,000, and instructed him to travel to Thailand to collect what he believed was a specially designed suitcase.
Johnson said a Chinese man delivered the locked suitcase to his hotel on the final night of the trip. He told the court he only learned what was inside after arriving in Turkey. In a final statement, he said: “I apologise. Had I known that the suitcase contained drugs, I would never have done such a thing.”
Cooper told the court she believed the pair were simply on holiday and had no knowledge of the contents of Johnson’s luggage. She said she bought her own airline ticket, spent the trip sightseeing and swimming, and was unaware of any threats against her boyfriend. When questioned about Johnson returning with a different suitcase, she said she assumed he had purchased a replacement after his original luggage was damaged on a previous trip.
Defence lawyer Bilgehan Berk argued that no illegal items were found in Cooper’s possession and that travelling with Johnson did not prove she knew about the drugs. The judge accepted her account, ordered her release and allowed her to return to the UK.
Johnson remains in custody at Maltepe Prison, where he is housed with other British inmates. Berk said reports that Johnson had been assaulted in prison were untrue and that he was safe.
The case has attracted attention in the UK, where relatives described the arrest as a nightmare for both families. A family friend said the couple were “good kids” and suggested Johnson may have been manipulated by a trafficking gang.
The Sun reported that Johnson is due to be sentenced in July. His lawyer has indicated that, if convicted, an application will be made for him to serve any prison term in the UK.
Picture courtesy of The Sun
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Adapted by ASEAN Now The-Sun 16 June 2026
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