Levi Whalley, a British nurse and Instagram influencer, will be allowed to keep her professional license despite being convicted of attempting to bring 32 kilograms of cannabis, worth around £160,000, into the United Kingdom.
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The 32-year-old from Blackburn was detained at Birmingham Airport in December 2023 alongside her friend, Sophie Bannister, after border officers found the drugs in their luggage, according to The Sun.
Whalley had 38 packages of cannabis weighing around 19 kilograms in her suitcase. The two women told authorities they were returning from a three-day trip to New York.
In 2025, she pleaded guilty to drug smuggling. The court sentenced her to 16 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, allowing her to avoid incarceration.
The case was also reviewed by a Nursing and Midwifery Council tribunal, which decided not to remove Whalley from the nursing register. She was instead suspended for 12 months, as revoking her license was deemed “disproportionate and overly punitive.”
At the hearing, Whalley said she had been facing significant difficulties in her personal life at the time of the incident. She said she initially believed she would be bringing several watches back from the United States but later discovered that the suitcase contained drugs. She also claimed she had been threatened not to abandon the trip.
Describing her actions as a “very bad decision,” the nurse expressed remorse. Whalley said she has since become a mother, completed 80 hours of community service and intends to return to nursing.
