Nigerian Drug Smuggler Who Hid Cocaine Worth More Than £400,000 In Children's Books Jailed For Seven Years

 
Kenneth Oranyendu, 42, from Clayton,who used children's books and coffee machines to hide at least £416,000 worth of drugs, has been jailed for more than seven years, DailyMailUK reports....Kenneth,was a key member of the transatlantic plot which saw more than 2.6kilos of drugs being sent to gangsters in Manchester, disguised as everyday items.


The high-purity cocaine was stashed in children’s books, a coffee machine and even a sprinkler system before being sent to the UK from California, Brazil and Nicaragua. The gang also used a fake trophy in the shape of an aeroplane - complete with a commemorative plaque - to smuggle the drugs.
 The smugglers were finally caught - three-and-a-half years after the ring was set up - when the powder was spotted hidden in photocopier cartridges.

Manchester Crown Court heard how 23 packages were sent to Manchester over a three-year period. Of these, seven packages were intercepted, with a total estimated street value of around £416,000. It means that the gang could have smuggled thousands of pounds more of cocaine into the UK.

 The gang used children's books, pictured above, to smuggle cocaine into the UK from the US and other countries such as Brazil and Nicaragua. The plot unravelled after a ‘vulnerable’ single mother in Rotherham - described as an ‘innocent dupe’ - was recruited to receive a consignment.

Manchester Crown Court heard Oranyendu recruited people to use their addresses for the scheme.Staff at East Midlands airport opened the package, which was sent from southern California, before it arrived at the woman’s house. When they found a kilo of cocaine inside the photocopier equipment, a customs officer delivered the drugs and arrested the resident. She led them to Oranyendu’s door.
In July 2012, the recovered items were linked to the Manchester conspiracy - nearly three-and-a-half years after the supply chain was set up.

A coffee machine, pictured left, was used to smuggle drugs. It was seized and found to have cocaine stashed in the base, pictured right 

An investigation by the NCA found major courier firms such as DHL had unwittingly delivered the items to bogus individuals and companies in Clayton, Abbey Hey and Gorton.
Gary Woodhall, defending, said Oranyendu, who admitted conspiracy to import cocaine, was remorseful.

The smugglers used the tripod stands, pictured left, to store pellets of cocaine, pictured right

He said: 'He was not involved in any retail distribution.' The defendant was jailed for seven years and four months.

Peter Avery, from the NCA’s Border Policing Command, said: 'We will continue to work with our partners to close down drug trafficking routes and take robust action against those involved.'