A British beautician who was caught attempting to smuggle $15 million worth of cocaine through a US airport has been sentenced to just six years in prison.
Kim Hall, 29, from Middlesbrough, was arrested in August 2024 at Chicago's O'Hare Airport when US Homeland Security officials discovered 43kg of cocaine hidden in two suitcases as she was en route from Mexico to the UK.
Hall was initially facing up to 60 years in prison for possession with intent to supply. However, following a plea bargain with prosecutors, she was sentenced on September 8 to just six years in prison, ITV News reported.
With time already served, including nearly a year in Cook County Jail, and the possibility of early release for good behavior, she could be back home in the UK in as little as two years.
Her attorney, Brandon Carter, explained that the plea deal was negotiated partly because U.S. authorities were not eager to hold a foreign national for an extended period.
"She's not a citizen of the United States, let alone a local of Chicago, so we have no business really in keeping her here," Carter said. "Of course, when you're facing 30 years, something that's less than that is going to be a godsend."
Hall’s family expressed relief at the reduced sentence, with her father, John Hall, describing the outcome as "better than winning any lottery," cited by The Sun.
“We feel we are the luckiest people on the planet,” he said. “It’s a huge relief for the whole family. We are still a bit concerned as to which prison she is going to serve her sentence in, but regardless of that, at least she only has to endure two years now and not 60.”
The arrest followed a traumatic ordeal for the woman, who has claimed she was coerced into carrying the drugs by two British men while on holiday in Cancun, Mexico.
Hall alleged that one of the men threatened her at gunpoint, saying, “I’ll f***ing shoot you” if she didn’t comply. She said later: “There’s no way that I would knowingly transport drugs. I’m not a drug trafficker.”
At the time of her arrest, Hall was frantic, crying and pleading to speak with her parents, as she came to terms with the severity of the situation.
“When the full realization of what it all meant hit me, I cried and cried,” she recalled. “I was hysterical and could hardly breathe. I was in a daze, thinking, Is this really happening to me?”
Despite initially claiming she had been duped and threatened into trafficking the drugs, Hall ultimately pleaded guilty to the charges as part of the plea deal. The court took into account her emotional distress and the time she had already served, reducing the sentence considerably.
The beautician's family has expressed optimism for her eventual release, but Hall’s ordeal is far from over.
Her father remarked that her journey to recovery and reintegration into life back in the UK would take time, adding: “We can start planning - I don’t mean any sort of big party but planning to get her life back on track and that will take some time because of everything she has suffered."