Drug smuggler jailed after hiding £800k of crack cocaine in wheel of cheese
A woman who attempted to smuggle £800k worth of crack cocaine into the UK hidden inside a cheese wheel has been jailed.
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US national Jamie Choi, 23, from California, was jailed for five years and three months on Tuesday after she was found to be carrying the suspicious 8kg wheel of parmesan in her luggage from South America.
The discovery came after she was stopped by UK Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport, having stepped off a flight from Brazil on 25 May this year.
Officers asked Choi about the giant 8kg wheel of parmesan cheese hidden in her hand luggage.
In response, Choi told Border Force officers that a friend had suggested she buy the parmesan while in Lima, Peru, for them to try.
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When officers examined the cheese, they found that it contained a massive quantity of crack cocaine – revealed by subsequent forensic analysis to be 94 per cent pure.
The investigation was referred to the National Crime Agency, whose officers identified that Choi had travelled from Los Angeles to Lima on 20 May 2025.
The next day Choi had flown to Asuncion, Paraguay, staying there until 24 May when she flew to Heathrow Airport after changing at Sau Paulo, Brazil.
Evidence found during a search of her luggage included a notebook discovered in Choi’s handbag, which contained a single handwritten memo dated 21 May 2025 – the day she left Lima.
It read: “I dropped out of UCSB [University of California Santa Barbara] on Monday. Currently I am in Paraguay in South America solo travelling for the first time. It’s been amazing so far.”
Choi, who was charged with importing Class A drugs, pleaded guilty to the offence at Isleworth Crown Court on 6 August 2025.
NCA senior investigating officer, Barry Vinall, said: “We’ve seen people trying to smuggle cocaine into the UK hidden inside all manner of innocuous looking items, but Border Force and the National Crime Agency are well-practised in finding drugs, whatever the disguise.
"Smuggling drugs into the UK is simply not a risk work taking – it has consequences, as seen in this case.”