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Owner of Chanel the African Grey parrot 'free' after having charges dropped over £792k drugs haul

Owner of Chanel the African Grey parrot 'free' after having charges dropped over £792k drugs haul

Sandra Hannah announced the news in a TikTok video.

The infamous owner of the runaway African Grey parrot Chanel has announced she is 'free' after being wrapped up in a huge drug case for months.

Sandra Hannah is best known for having a belting set of lungs on her after a video of her begging people to help find her beloved bird went viral in Liverpool back in April 2020.

If you need to jog your memory, take a look at this:

The 43-year-old became an online sensation overnight after the dramatic clip started doing the rounds, while the whole country was rooting for her to be reunited with Chanel.

Thankfully, she eventually found the parrot in Cumberland Gate, Netherton, after her daring escape - but Sandra then had to prepare for the prospect of saying goodbye to her for an even longer period.

She was hauled before the courts in October last year, alongside four others, after Merseyside Police arrested them in relation to a huge £792,000 drugs haul.

Following the joint operation with the National Crime Agency, Sandra was initially charged with the importation of cannabis and possession of criminal property amid the discovery of cannabis resin brought in from Spain.

Sandra and Chanel are a pair of unlikely celebrities in Liverpool.
Instagram/@chanels_ma

She pleaded not guilty in court, as did the four other defendants, and was granted bail ahead of the trial date - which was set for March this year.

The Liverpudlian has since announced she is 'free' following the court case and shared a video on TikTok on 1 March celebrating the fact that her charges had been dropped - and of course, she had to reference her elusive African Grey.

Sandra beamed: "Just come out of court, baby! Happy Friday! I'm free! Woohoo! Happy Friday guys, love to you's all. Woohoo! Chanel's free!"

In another clip she uploaded to her account @ilostmyparrotchanel, she said: "I'm in court, yeah, I'm in the toilets because I'm f**king free! I'm off to fly towards the canal just like Chanel!"

She shared a video announcing she was 'free' following the trial for the drugs case.
TikTok/ilostmyparrotchanel

In the comments of one of her videos, she went on to give a hint about Chanel's reaction to the good news.

Sandra wrote: "Ignore my face, Chanel bit me she was that excited."

If things had gone the other way in the court room, you can bet your bottom dollar that Chanel would be swooping over prison walls to get to her owner. It's an unbreakable bond.


Sandra also joked that her solicitor had heard her loud celebration outside of court all the way from Liverpool One leisure complex, which only proves even further that Sandra has a serious set of pipes on her.

Social media users congratulated her on her freedom and said they were 'glad she was okay' in the comments.

One said: "Best news ever!"

Another wrote: "You're such a vibe, congrats girl!"

And a third joked: "Was this for disturbing the peace in lockdown looking for Chanel?"

Featured Image Credit: Storyful/Sandra Hannah/Tiktok/ilostmyparrotchanel

Topics: UK News, News, Viral, Crime