Young British ‘drug mule’ couple arrested in Turkey after trying to ‘smuggle suitcases full of cannabis into Britain’

A young British couple faces 30 years in a Turkish prison after being accused of smuggling two suitcases full of cannabis into Britain.

Holly Cooper and her boyfriend Taylor Johnson, both 20, were reportedly arrested minutes after landing in Istanbul on a flight from Thailand.

Officers took them aside for questioning as they tried to catch their connecting flight to London.

They were then thrown into a crowded cell where Turkish thugs beat Mr Johnson, his family claimed.

After being formally arrested following a court hearing, they were transferred to a prison where they may have to wait an entire year for trial.

The couple also does not have their own attorneys and will be represented by public defenders.

Desperate to help, friends have launched a GoFundMe to raise money while the couple languish in foreign cells.

If convicted, Ms. Cooper and Mr. Johnson face a minimum sentence of 10 years, but it could increase to 30 years.

Taylor Johnson and Holly Cooper, both in their 20s, have been arrested and are being held in Turkish prison awaiting trial, which could take up to a year. They risk a prison sentence of up to 30 years

Family friends claim the couple were groomed by criminals in Gran Canaria to act as drug mules and smuggle two suitcases of cannabis from Thailand to Britain

They are “good kids,” said a family friend. It is claimed that Mr Johnson was beaten up while in the crowded cell when the couple were first arrested

A family friend said the pair were “good kids.”

He told The Sun: ‘Okay, they did something stupid this time, but everyone makes mistakes.

‘They have been recruited and groomed by bigger criminals and exploited by them. They are alone in a Turkish prison. It’s shocking and apparently Taylor got beat up. The families are in pieces.”

Ms Cooper posted photos of their trip to Gran Canaria, where criminals are said to have groomed them.

Mrs Cooper, from Coseley, and Taylor, from Wednesbury, flew to Thailand last month and were returning home on their flight to Istanbul when they were stopped by police on April 26.

£455 has been donated to the fundraiser in five days.

Gracie, a family friend who set up the crowdfunding, admitted that “it may be brutal for some” to raise money for the couple, but said “anyone who knows Taylor knows he would help you as much as he can.”

Mrs Cooper’s aunt Maxine Cooper confirmed her arrest to The Sun.

The Foreign Office said it was providing support to two Britons detained in Turkey and their families.