Edinburgh crime: American brothers caught at Edinburgh Airport with £100,000 of cannabis 'forced by gangsters'

Two American businessmen who were caught at Edinburgh Airport attempting to smuggle £100,000 of cannabis into the UK have been jailed.

Leon Melassanos, 68, and his brother Mitchell Melassanos, 59, were pulled over by Border Control officials and their luggage searched after the pair landed in Edinburgh in June this year. The brothers, both from California, were found to have around 30 kilos of the Class B drug worth the six figure sum stashed in several packages within their suitcase.

Leon Melassanos claimed he had been forced to carry out the smuggling operation by US gangsters after he had borrowed £50,000 in an attempt to finance his floundering chain of restaurants. Lawyer Raymond Ferguson, defending, said his client had employed 50 staff members but his business had been severely affected during Covid, forcing him to approach a loan shark for financial help.

Mr Ferguson said Melassanos then struggled to pay the loan back, resulting in him being told the only way to pay the debt back was to bring the large drug consignment into the UK. Mr Ferguson said: “He was confident he could pay it back but unfortunately he wasn’t able to pay. He was concerned about what had happened and he was told there was a way he could settle the debt and that way resulted in him being arrested at Edinburgh Airport. Prior to this he was a hard working, pro-social, law abiding citizen.”

The lawyer added Melassanos had “a large supportive family” and had “expressed regret” at his offending.

Solicitor Cameron Tait, for Mitchell Melassanos, told the court his client had been approached by his older brother for help in bringing the drugs into the UK. Mr Tait said: “He was contacted by his brother and was made aware of the full extent of his financial difficulties and it appears one of the solutions was what ultimately transpired.

“But when Mitchell Melassanos was made aware who the certain individuals were, or roughly who they were, it was made clear to him they were serious individuals involved in organised crime. After hearing the serious threats he agreed to assist his brother.” Mr Tait said Melassanos had previously gained a degree in Computer Science at the University of Tennessee and was a self employed computer consultant.

The lawyer added he “accepts responsibility fully for this offence” and has expressed “great remorse and regret” for his part in the smuggling operation. Mr Tait told the court the Melassanos brothers have been told they will be deported back to the US when they are eventually released from custody.

Both men appeared from custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court for sentencing on Thursday, September 21, after previously pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis at Edinburgh Airport on June 10 this year. Sheriff Ian Anderson told Leon Melassanos his “culpability is greater in this case” and sentenced him to a 12 month custodial sentence. The sheriff said he would give Mitchell Melassanos “some credit for not being the instigator between the two of you” and imposed a 10 month jail term on him.