A North London resident bearing a Ghanaian name who attempted to smuggle cocaine worth around £70,000 through London City Airport has been jailed for 5 years.
Kennedy Kwaku Osei was stopped by UK Border Agency staff on 31 August 2011.
The 36-year-old, of Samira Close, Walthamstow, was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court today after admitting a charge of drug smuggling at a previous hearing on 5 September.
Osei was stopped on his arrival from Antwerp after officers became suspicious when he altered the account of his trip itinerary.
They arrested him and took him to hospital for an x-ray, which showed packages inside him. He eventually produced 50 packages weighing 594g with an estimated street value of £70,000.
During an interview under caution Osei said he was in debt and needed to find ways of making money quickly. He went to Amsterdam and was approached by 2 men on the street who offered to pay him £1,500 in return for swallowing 50 packages of drugs and returning to the UK. They arranged for payment on collection once he produced the drugs.
Peter Avery, Assistant Director for the UK Border Agency's criminal and financial investigation team, said:
'The concealment technique used by this individual shows the lengths to which some people will go in attempt to avoid detection by our officers.
'The UK Border Agency is at the forefront of the fight to stop drugs, weapons, other contraband and illegal immigrants entering the UK and our officers are on constant alert to keep them out of the country.
'Let this case serve as a warning to those who may think they can elude our controls, we have the ability to detect and bring you to justice.'
Alongside a dedicated presence at our ports and airports, the agency also has specialist criminal and financial investigation teams across the country that work to identify those involved in smuggling and immigration crime, be they the smuggler or wider criminal gang.
Kennedy Kwaku Osei pleaded guilty to one charge under Section 3(1) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 contrary to Section 170 (2) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979. He was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on 15 December.