Influencer nurse caught smuggling £160,000 worth of cannabis into the UK with glam friend is allowed to keep her nursing licence

By JOSHUA HAINING, NEWS REPORTER Published: 18:20, 30 July 2026 | Updated: 18:24, 30 July 2026 An influencer nurse turned drug-mule has been allowed to keep her nursing licence after she was caught smuggling £160,000 worth of cannabis into the UK. Levi Whalley risked losing her job as a nurse when she tried to bring more than 35kg of cannabis over from the US with her friend. The 32-year-old claimed the pair were returning from a 'shopping trip' in New York when Birmingham Airport Border Force officials seized their luggage containing the huge drugs stash.  Whalley's suitcase alone contained 38 wrapped packages of the Class-B drug that weighed 19kg. But the nurse-turned drug-mule, who shares photographs of her jet-setting lifestyle to nearly 45,000 Instagram followers, narrowly escaped a jail sentence. Now, a nursing regulator has said it is looking to have her fired despite her avoiding losing her nursing licence at a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) tribunal. Instead, the mother-of-one from Blackburn has been suspended from nursing for 12 months.  The tribunal ruled that revoking her licence would be 'unduly punitive' given that she was experiencing a 'very difficult' time when she attempted to smuggle the drugs. Influencer nurse turned drug-mule Levi Whalley attempted to smuggle £160,000 worth of cannabis into the UK More than 35 kilograms worth of the Class-B drug were seized by Border Force officials at Birmingham Airport The 32-year-old claimed she was returning from a 'shopping trip' with her friend Sophie Bannister (pictured) Whalley had been running her own beauty business, injecting clients with botox and filler, but has not been able to practise since the suspension. The NMC heard that she had 'always wanted to be a nurse from a very young age'.  Whalley began working in healthcare aged 18 and in 2019 qualified as a nurse before she found a job at an eye clinic where she was promoted to management.  After leaving the eye clinic, she started her own business operating as a 'nurse injector' and also worked in the private sector until she was busted smuggling drugs and suspended in December 2023. Whalley was arrested at Birmingham Airport following what she claimed to be a 'three-day shopping trip to New York' with her friend Sophie Bannister. She then had her phone and passport seized and was referred to the NMC by West Midlands Police. Following her arrest, Whalley was convicted of drug smuggling at Blackburn Magistrates' Court in February 2025. Two months later she was given a 16-month sentence suspended for 18 months at Preston Crown Court. Whalley's bag alone contained 38 wrapped packages of cannabis that weighed 19 kilograms Whalley pictured in Times Square where she went on a 'shopping trip' before attempted to smuggle drugs back to the UK At the NMC tribunal, Whalley gave evidence and heard she was facing 'very difficult circumstances' in her personal life at the time, which have 'now positively resolved'. Summarising her evidence, the NMC panel said: 'It was after [PRIVATE] that a friend of yours offered for you to go to New York for the weekend for free and that you and your friend would have to bring back some watches to the UK. 'You explained that you just wanted escapism after everything you had been through, and you thought it would be good for your wellbeing. 'You did not think about the consequences, you made a very irrational decision in the moment. The panel said that an hour before Whalley's flight home, she panicked after receiving the suitcase and did not want to go ahead but 'received messages threatening your home and family.' They added: 'All the hard work you had done for your nursing career had been thrown away over this very stupid decision. You have so much regret for what you have done.' As part of her sentence, Whalley did 80 hours of unpaid work which she completed at a charity shop. She said that she was in a 'very different stage of life now' as she is a mother and looks at the world 'differently'. The panel then concluded that Whalley would not lose her nursing licence. 'In the specific and unusual circumstances surrounding your offending, the panel concluded that your conviction was not fundamentally incompatible with remaining on the register. 'It therefore concluded that a striking-off order would be disproportionate and unduly punitive in the circumstances.' The panel said a 12-month suspension was ‘appropriate in this case to mark the seriousness of her conviction’.