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Nigerian Drug Kingpin Jailed for Exploiting Elderly in Meth Smuggling Scheme

Tonny Iheoma Ezeh, 51, was sentenced to nine years and three months for orchestrating a global trafficking operation that duped vulnerable pensioners into smuggling methamphetamine disguised as chocolate truffles.

The men were each caught carrying 3kg of crystal meth hidden in packets of Elvan chocolate truffles
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Overview

  • Ezeh recruited two German pensioners, aged 80 and 67, through email scams promising large cash windfalls, tricking them into carrying methamphetamine hidden in luxury chocolate truffles.
  • The pensioners were stopped at Heathrow Airport in October 2024, each unknowingly carrying about 3 kilograms of methamphetamine destined for Hong Kong.
  • Both victims were initially charged with drug smuggling, but the charges were dropped after the National Crime Agency (NCA) uncovered the scam and their unwitting involvement.
  • Ezeh, operating from Mexico and linked to a West African crime group, was arrested in December 2024 when he flew into the UK and later pleaded guilty to smuggling Class A drugs.
  • The NCA continues to warn the public about similar courier scams and is pursuing other members of the trafficking network involved in the operation.