A British woman who pleaded guilty after authorities found 43 kilograms of cocaine in suitcases at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport has been sentenced to six years in a U.S. federal court and is expected to return to the United Kingdom in around two years.

Kim Hall, 29, of Middlesbrough, was arrested last summer when Homeland Security officers said they discovered two suitcases containing the Class A drug during a stop at O’Hare on Aug. 18, 2024. Prosecutors said the seized cocaine was worth about £15 million and that Hall had been charged with possession with intent to distribute, an offence that carried a potential sentence of decades in prison.

She admitted the offence and reached a plea agreement, after which a judge in Illinois imposed a six-year sentence. Under the federal rules cited by her legal team and court filings, the sentence will be reduced, and with credit for the time Hall has already spent in custody, authorities expect she will be returned to the United Kingdom in roughly 24 months.

Hall’s father, John, 60, told British media the family was "over the moon" at the outcome and described relief that his daughter would serve a shorter term than the one originally possible. "We feel we are the luckiest people on the planet – it's better than winning any lottery," he said.

Hall has maintained that she did not knowingly transport drugs. In interviews with British publications last year, she said she had been coerced into carrying the luggage after a holiday in Cancun, Mexico, alleging that two men — whom she identified as British — forced her to take the bags and that one had threatened her with a handgun. She told reporters she was hysterical when stopped at O’Hare and pleaded to call her parents.

Her lawyer, Brandon Carter, said in court that Hall is not a U.S. citizen and that there was no reason to keep her in the United States beyond the completion of legal requirements. Court documents and statements from prosecutors show that Hall will serve the remainder of her reduced federal sentence in the American prison system and will be deported to the U.K. after her release.

U.S. authorities have maintained they found the narcotics concealed in the luggage during what they described as a random inspection while Hall was changing flights en route to London. Prosecutors had initially filed charges that exposed her to a lengthy federal prison term; the plea deal averted a trial and the risk of a much longer sentence.

In May, U.S. authorities alleged Hall attempted to engineer a deportation to avoid prosecution. Officials say she presented herself to immigration authorities in February while out on an electronic monitoring tag; a judge subsequently revoked the monitoring and ordered her returned to custody. Those allegations were reported as part of court proceedings and have not resulted in additional convictions beyond the drug charge resolved by the plea.

U.S. federal sentencing rules permit reductions in certain circumstances, including credit for acceptance of responsibility and time served, which contributed to the shorter effective prison term in this case. After completion of her sentence and any required administrative processes, Hall will be processed for deportation to the United Kingdom, a routine outcome for noncitizens convicted of federal narcotics offences.

The case drew attention in Britain both because of the size and value of the seizure and because of Hall’s public statements about coercion. Her family said they plan to help her rebuild her life after her return, though they expressed ongoing concern about where she will serve the remainder of her sentence in the United States.

Court records show the matter is closed at the federal level in Illinois following the plea and sentencing. U.S. authorities have not publicly identified other suspects in connection with the alleged coercion, and Hall’s claims regarding those events were part of her public defence statements and interviews with British media.