Woman's telling handwritten note revealed as she is caught smuggling $1m of crack cocaine in a wheel of parmesan

A woman who was caught trying to smuggle crack cocaine into the UK was carrying a notebook containing 'a single handwritten memo', police said.

Jamie Choi, 23, tried to hide the drugs by stuffing them inside a parmesan cheese wheel in her luggage after arriving on a flight from Brazil on 25 May, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

The US national was halted by UK Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport after arriving, as she was questioned about the eight-kilogram cheese wheel she was travelling with.

Choi, originally from California, claimed that a friend suggested she buy the cheese from Lima, Peru, so they could try it together.

Upon closer inspection by the authorities, it was found that the cheese actually contained crack cocaine, which was found via forensic analysis to be 94 percent pure and worth around $1 million (£800,000).

The parmesan wheel was found to contain copious amounts of the Class A drug (National Crime Agency)

After the investigation was referred to the NCA, its officers found that the American had flown from Los Angeles to Lima on 20 May, before making her way to Asuncion, Paraguay, the next day.

She stayed there until 24 May before flying to Heathrow Airport via a layover in São Paulo, Brazil.

While going through her things, officers found a notebook in Choi's handbag, which contained one handwritten note dated 21 May 2025, which was the day she left Lima.

The memo said: “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 was then charged with importing Class A drugs, and appeared at Isleworth Court on 6 August 2025, where she pleaded guilty to the offence.

Following the case, the 23-year-old has today been jailed for a total of five years and three months.

Choi has been jailed for her actions (National Crime Agency)

On its website, the National Crime Agency warned of attempting to smuggle drugs into the country.

NCA senior investigating officer, Barry Vinall, said in a statement: “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 worth taking - it has consequences, as seen in this case.”