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03/07/2003
Cocaine-smuggling 'Togo two' get 38 years
Two people from Togo have been sentenced to a total of 38 years in prison today after being found guilty of attempting to smuggle over 30 kilos of cocaine into the UK.
At Isleworth Crown Court today, Adjoavi Enyonam Josiane Amega (19), a clothes shop owner from Lome, Togo, was sentenced to 18 years and ordered to be deported on completion of her sentence.
Amelifo Bossed Ekoh (20), a businessman also from Lome, was sentenced to 20 years – also with the recommendation that he be deported at the end of his term.
The pair, along with another man, were arrested at Heathrow Airport on January 26 after getting off a flight from Paris. All three were found to have plastic containers in their luggage – each containing cocaine. The total street value of the haul was around £1.8 million.
Ekoh and Amega had claimed that they believed they were carrying food packages, given to them by relatives, into the UK.
The second man claimed not to know what was in the container in his luggage. He was found not guilty.
Customs spokesperson Shona Lowe said: "We are delighted to have prevented this amount of cocaine from reaching the streets of the UK.
"The severity of the sentences shows how seriously both Customs and the courts take this sort of criminal activity. The length of sentence should act as a deterrent to those who think drug smuggling is an easy way to make money."
(GMcG)
At Isleworth Crown Court today, Adjoavi Enyonam Josiane Amega (19), a clothes shop owner from Lome, Togo, was sentenced to 18 years and ordered to be deported on completion of her sentence.
Amelifo Bossed Ekoh (20), a businessman also from Lome, was sentenced to 20 years – also with the recommendation that he be deported at the end of his term.
The pair, along with another man, were arrested at Heathrow Airport on January 26 after getting off a flight from Paris. All three were found to have plastic containers in their luggage – each containing cocaine. The total street value of the haul was around £1.8 million.
Ekoh and Amega had claimed that they believed they were carrying food packages, given to them by relatives, into the UK.
The second man claimed not to know what was in the container in his luggage. He was found not guilty.
Customs spokesperson Shona Lowe said: "We are delighted to have prevented this amount of cocaine from reaching the streets of the UK.
"The severity of the sentences shows how seriously both Customs and the courts take this sort of criminal activity. The length of sentence should act as a deterrent to those who think drug smuggling is an easy way to make money."
(GMcG)
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