Gino D’Acampo ‘caught with cannabis by sniffer dogs as he jets to UK’

Gino D’Acampo was allegedly caught with cannabis by police sniffer dogs as he flew into the UK.

The celebrity chef, 46, was reportedly given a warning as he arrived back in Britain with Gordon Ramsay, 56, and Fred Sirieix, 51, at Farnborough Airport, Hampshire.

They had been in Spain filming Gordon, Gino and Fred: Road Trip, with a source telling The Sun: ‘Fred and Gordon were pretty cross.’

It came just weeks before Gino quit the travel show, with Gino claiming he was leaving due to a row over ‘complicated’ contacts. 

The source said: ‘Gino and the gang had been filming in Spain, and flew back home on Gordon’s private jet. When they landed, out of nowhere sniffer dogs suddenly started circling Gino.

Stopped: Gino D’Acampo, 46, was allegedly caught with cannabis by police sniffer dogs as he flew into the UK

Famous friends: The celebrity chef was reportedly given a warning as he arrived back in Britain with Gordon Ramsay, 56, and Fred Sirieix, 51, at Farnborough Airport, Hampshire (L-R: Gino, Gordon and Fred)

Famous friends: The celebrity chef was reportedly given a warning as he arrived back in Britain with Gordon Ramsay, 56, and Fred Sirieix, 51, at Farnborough Airport, Hampshire (L-R: Gino, Gordon and Fred)

‘Gordon, Fred and Gino were all held for some time by Border Force, as Gino initially tried to laugh it off.

‘Eventually, it was clear who the dogs were after, and Gino went away with uniformed police for questioning. It was Gino’s bags that were stopped and searched, and a small box with some weed inside was found.

‘Neither Fred nor Gordon, nor anyone else on the jet, had a single trace of anything suspicious.’

The source added that Gino called Gordon and Fred the following day to explain he had been smoking it to help his bad back.

They added that Gino was released by police ‘without issue’.

It is claimed Gordon and Fred were both angry about the situation, particularly as Gordon has always been vocal about his anti-drugs stance.

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Gino, Gordon and Fred, television production company Studio Ramsay and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary for comment.

Gordon has been open about his younger brother Ronnie’s troubles in the past after he became addicted to hard drugs. 

Division: They had been in Spain filming Gordon, Gino and Fred: Road Trip, with a source telling The Sun : 'Fred and Gordon were pretty cross'

Division: They had been in Spain filming Gordon, Gino and Fred: Road Trip, with a source telling The Sun : ‘Fred and Gordon were pretty cross’

ITV viewers previously saw Gino and Fred high on cannabis tea during their American road trip with Gordon.

The Italian chef and French maitre’d headed to San Francisco with their British counterpart in a 2020 episode of Gordon, Gino and Fred: American Road Trip.

Since legalising cannabis in 2016, the California city has been a hotspot for CBD and THC (cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol, respectively, which are both derived from the cannabis plant) infused food and drink creations.

The trio were keen to try out some of the dishes and headed to a restaurant where Gino tucked in enthusiastically and Fred appeared to have a sample, after a chef offered them tea and sandwiches with THC drops in them.

Gordon turned down the cannabis, telling Gino: ‘Slow down, you’ll be like a hot air balloon in a minute.’

Earlier this month, Gino revealed he has quit his popular ITV show Gordon, Gino and Fred: Road Trip after three series.

The chef said that he was leaving due to a row over ‘complicated’ contracts.

The show saw the Italian TV favourite travel the globe with fellow foodies Gordon and Fred as they explored the local cuisine.

Looking back: ITV viewers previously saw Gino and Fred high on cannabis tea during their American road trip with Gordon

Looking back: ITV viewers previously saw Gino and Fred high on cannabis tea during their American road trip with Gordon 

Gino said his friendships with his former colleagues had nothing to do with his exit with their ‘strong’ bond meaning more to him than arguments over contracts.

He told his Instagram followers: ‘Last week I decided not to film any more Gordon, Gino and Fred Road trips. The reason is very simple – nothing to do with Gordon or Fred, the friendship is very strong’.

He continued: ‘It’s just because we can’t get the dates together and sometimes when we do get the dates together sometimes they get changed and it causes a lot of problems for me because I have other stuff that I have to do.

‘Personal problems as well because when I have to change things with my family it is very complicated and also because [of] contracts’.

Gino is married to Jessica Stellina Morrison with whom he has sons Luciano, 21 and Rocco, 18, and nine-year-old daughter Mia.

Gino went on to say: ‘Because contracts start to become very complicated and very stressful, I personally value the friendship with Gordon and Fred so much that I would rather the friendship than arguments with the contract’.

‘So I have decided not to do it anymore because I want to be friends with the boys for many, many years ahead.’

An ITV spokesman said: ‘A brand new series of Gordon, Gino & Fred’s Road Trip in Spain will be broadcast on ITV1 and ITVX later this year’ – having already been filmed.

Filming: The Italian chef and French maitre'd headed to San Francisco with their British counterpart in a 2020 episode of Gordon, Gino and Fred: American Road Trip

Filming: The Italian chef and French maitre’d headed to San Francisco with their British counterpart in a 2020 episode of Gordon, Gino and Fred: American Road Trip 

Unimpressed: A red-faced Gordon was left unimpressed during the show and stuck to just plain tea during the visit

Unimpressed: A red-faced Gordon was left unimpressed during the show and stuck to just plain tea during the visit

‘The popular show first aired in 2018 with the trio travelling France and Italy, before heading to America in 2020 followed by a trip to Greece two years later. 

The series has also spawned three Christmas specials.

Naples-born Gino originally moved to the United Kingdom at the age of 19 to work at The Orchard Restaurant in London.

He then started his TV career in 2004 and has gone on to become a household name and was crowned I’m A Celeb’s King of the Jungle in 2009.

As well as cooking he has also worked as a host and now fronts ITV’s Family Fortunes after the channel revived the show in 2020.

He has found himself shocking viewers as with a whole host of colourful incidences and innuendos not always suitable for daytime TV.

Most recently he left This Morning viewers in hysterics earlier this month as he went on a mission to learn how corks are made.  

The celebrity chef was misunderstood as saying an X-rated word during the segment.

Quit: The news comes after Gino revealed he had left his popular ITV show Gordon, Gino and Fred: Road Trip

Quit: The news comes after Gino revealed he had left his popular ITV show Gordon, Gino and Fred: Road Trip

Host Phillip Schofield was then forced to interrupt the pre-recorded clip of Gino and clarify he was saying ‘cork’ not ‘c**k’ while Holly Willoughby cringed.

In November, Gino was accused of being ‘xenophobic’ by viewers for claiming he disliked the French.

He made the revelation about his dislike for the nation as he cooked a chicken cordon bleu during one segment.

Despite the dish being considered French, Gino insisted it wasn’t before launching into a tirade about the country.

He said: ‘Not that I have to explain myself but this is called pollo impanato, which is stuff chicken breast. Now the French call it blah blah blah but it’s really pollo impanato.

‘Plus everybody knows I will never cook a French dish. I don’t like to cook other nation’s food.

‘I am going to be honest with you, apart from my friend Fred Sirieix, I don’t like French people.’

He added: ‘Too close to Italy, they always think everything they do is the greatest. There is no need for French people in the world.’

Saucy stuff: The show first aired in 2018 with the trio travelling France and Italy, before heading to America in 2020 followed later by a trip to Greece - with three Christmas specials

Saucy stuff: The show first aired in 2018 with the trio travelling France and Italy, before heading to America in 2020 followed later by a trip to Greece – with three Christmas specials

Gino has since admitted he has come close to being ‘cancelled’ by fans but insisted that he ‘doesn’t care’ what people think.

He told The Sun: ‘There is a fine line on television and I think I walk the line, I’ve been walking that fine line for the last ten to 15 years.’

Gino said he thinks he ‘gets away’ with a lot more on TV than other people can because viewers have known him for around 15 years.

However, he insisted that he has never ‘crossed the line’ with his jokes, saying he would have been ‘fired’ if he did.

He said: ‘But I can get away with the accent and because I’m Gino and everybody knows me for a long time, I can get away with many things that someone else could not get away with.’

However before hitting the big time Gino spent two years in prison after being convicted of burgling 1980s singer Paul Young’s home.

He was a 21-year-old waiter when he stole the pop star’s £4,000 guitar collection, alongside a prized platinum disc.

Paul previously said he forgave the celebrity chef, but has told how now he has ‘mixed feelings’ about it after his wife Stacey died of brain cancer in January 2018.

Lovebirds: Gino is married to Jessica Stellina Morrison (pictured together in 2015)

Lovebirds: Gino is married to Jessica Stellina Morrison (pictured together in 2015)

Boys: The couple have sons Luciano, 21 and Rocco, 18, together

Boys: The couple have sons Luciano, 21 and Rocco, 18, together

Daughter: They also share youngest daughter nine-year-old Mia

Daughter: They also share youngest daughter nine-year-old Mia 

Family: They have all featured with him on screen (pictured together on the ITV show)

Family: They have all featured with him on screen (pictured together on the ITV show) 

Young, 67, told the Mirror at the time: ‘When Stacey went there were certain bits of music I never got back.

‘Let’s say that – and that hurt me.’

Referring to the robbery, he added: ‘I try to keep a light-hearted attitude on that. He gets enough stick on social networking – he doesn’t need my help as well.’

Gino was caught after his DNA matched tests on cigarette butts he had dropped in the Paul and Stacey’s London home.

He was sentenced to two years in jail for the crime and has since expressed his remorse for his actions.

Young, best known for hits including Wherever I Lay My Hat, has previously admitted to forgiving Gino after he phoned him to apologise in 2009, shortly before the chef’s triumphant appearance on I’m A Celebrity.

‘I don’t hold it against him. He said it was bad and he apologised, and I did get most of the stuff back,’ he told the Evening Standard in 2011.

‘Maybe he needed his wrist slapping and he got that. He said he was in a terrible place and wanted to turn his life around.’

Winner: He started his TV career back in 2004 and has gone on to become a household name and was crowned I'm A Celeb's King of the Jungle in 2009

Winner: He started his TV career back in 2004 and has gone on to become a household name and was crowned I’m A Celeb’s King of the Jungle in 2009

Saucy: He has found himself shocking viewers as with a whole host of colourful incidences and innuendos not always suitable for daytime TV ¿ most recently his pronunciation of the word 'cork' (pictured)

Saucy: He has found himself shocking viewers as with a whole host of colourful incidences and innuendos not always suitable for daytime TV – most recently his pronunciation of the word ‘cork’ (pictured)

A local newspaper report at the time of Gino’s trial told how he was convicted of burglary and handling stolen goods.

It reported that the prized guitars were found in the back garden shed of his home, then in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.

Among the stolen items included a platinum disc and a Mexican Candelas Bajo Sexto 12 string guitar.

Gino, then going by his real name Gennaro, burgled Young’s home on the eve of the singer’s tour in Belgium in August.

He was also convicted of stealing a video recorder, a fax machine, a mountain bike, some cash and some jewellery from the singer’s home.

Devastated: Paul Young admits the burglary carried out at his London home by Gino in the late nineties has robbed him of treasured memories relating to his late wife Stacey (pictured together in 2014)

Devastated: Paul Young admits the burglary carried out at his London home by Gino in the late nineties has robbed him of treasured memories relating to his late wife Stacey (pictured together in 2014)

Speaking during the trial at the loss of one of the 12 string guitar, Paul said: ‘It’s of no use to anyone in England but me because no one plays that style and they are very difficult to get.’

He told how he found a stray cigarette butt on his floor of the master bedroom shortly after the burglary.

DNA testing linked the cigarette butt to Gino and police found four guitars, a video recorder and a platinum disc.

He also stole a mountain bike – which he later sold to a local pawnbrokers.

 

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