Nigerian Student With 67 Wraps Of Cocaine Sentenced In London

DRUGS EXTRACTED FROM FIDELIS. Photo: Dailymail

London (THEWILL) - A Manchester Crown Court has sentenced a Nigerian, Fidelis Ozouli, 30, to ten years in prison for drug trafficking. Ozouli was arrested at the Manchester Airport by UK custom officials after he tried to smuggle 1kg worth of cocaine with a street value of about $420,000 dollars into the United Kingdom according to London’s Dailymail.

Vigilant custom agents accosted Ozouli, a Nigerian studying at a London university when they noticed he was unusually bloated. An x-ray of his tummy revealed a huge pile of the substance wrapped in condoms. There were 67 condoms in all. The discovery is the second largest quantity ever found inside a human body in the UK. The largest was 1.5kg found in a smuggler’s stomach in 2003.

Ozouli said in court he didn’t know they were drugs “I did not know they were drugs, I just did not know what they were. I thought I was swallowing something else to take to Britain as a favour for a pal.” But Judge Thomas Gilbart QC told him: "I do not accept your evidence and do not believe it is credible. The story is fantastical and I don't believe a word of it. This was a calculated decision on your part to solve your money worries."

Customs officers said Ozouli, was stopped by UK Border Agency officers on his arrival at Manchester from Switzerland on 5 September.

He claimed he was on a business trip from Zurich on behalf of a pharmaceuticals company but a scrutiny of his passport revealed he had taken a lengthy and very unusual route back to the UK through several African countries, including Nigeria.

Ozouli was arrested and the case was passed to officers from who interviewed him. He was taken to a hospital where he was X-rayed to ensure all the packages had been recovered.

Mike O'Grady, assistant director of criminal investigation at UK’s Revenue and Customs, said: "Forensic tests showed that the purity of this cocaine is significantly above what we would normally find.”

"Swallowing any drugs puts the courier at risk, but with purity levels this high he was putting himself at considerable risk of death.

"Criminals dealing in drugs with high purity levels are thinking solely of increased profits, to further fund their illegal activity. They show utter disregard for the damage drugs do to individuals and communities.

"Customs is working closely with our partners in the UK Border Agency, police and other law enforcement agencies such as the Serious Organized Crime Agency to protect the public from the significant and damaging effect drugs have on our communities.

"This collaboration is helping to protect the UK from the violence and corruption that always accompanies the trade in illegal drugs."

Nigeria’s drug enforcement agency is said to be collapsing due to funding and operational issues. Nigeria and South Africa are favourite routes for smugglers seeking to export drugs to the west.