A smuggling gang who tried to hide nearly £3million worth of coke in their flight luggage disguised as food packets have been jailed for a total of 28 years.
The three men and one woman attempted to import 33lbs (15kilos) of the class A drug concealed in suitcases on flights from Ghana to the UK.
Julius Tetteh Puplampu, 56, Eric Appaih, 50, Albert Gyamfi, 52, and Jennifer Agyemang, 38, have all been jailed for a combined total of over 28 years.
While some suitcases had hidden compartments, others had illicit narcotics stashed in packets of traditional African plantain mix.
Puplampu was stopped by officers at Heathrow Airport after arriving in London from Accra, the capital of Ghana, on August 19 last year. Cops searched his suitcase and found a hidden compartment holding six kilos of cocaine.
He admitted to drug importation charges and a search of his phone and laptop found connections with other smugglers originating from Ghana. Investigators from the National Crime Agency discovered Puplampu was in regular contact with Appaih who tried to import 15 kilos of cocaine hidden in food boxes.
These were hidden in African Queen fufu boxes - a mix of plantain and potato starch used to make a semi-solid dough. Paplampu was also connected to Gyamfi and Agyemang, who were stopped by Border Force officers in early 2021.
The pair tried to hide 15 kilos of cocaine hidden in the 38-year-old woman's suitcase. While the pair initially denied knowledge of each other, evidence showed the pair rearranging items in Agyemang's suitcase before checking in at Kotoka International Airport in Accra.
Puplampu was jailed for six years nine months while Appiah was sentenced to six years imprisonment, both at Isleworth Crown Court. At the same court, Gyamfi was sentenced to nine years while Agyemang received six years and nine months in December.
Piers Phillips, senior investigations officer at the NCA, said: "This investigation has prevented an international cocaine smuggling group from getting their drugs to the UK market and seen the perpetrators given significant prison sentences.
“Cocaine causes significant harm to our communities, often fuelling violence and exploitation. We will continue to work with domestic and international partners to disrupt the class A drugs trade and pursue offenders.”
Kenneth Adu Amanfoh, director general of Ghana’s Narcotics Control Commission, said after the latest sentencing hearing that other members of the drug network had also been arrested.
He added: “Other individuals in Ghana connected to this drugs supply group have recently been arrested and apprehended by Narcotics Control Commission. This is a result of the strong collaboration between Ghanaian and UK law enforcement partners to counter international drugs trafficking and associated immigration crimes.”
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