Two elderly German pensioners, aged 80 and 67, were unknowingly used as drug mules by an international trafficking syndicate, smuggling crystal meth into the UK hidden in bags of chocolate truffles.
The mastermind, 51-year-old Tonny Ezeh, who holds Nigerian, Canadian, and Jamaican citizenship, tricked the unsuspecting men into believing they were beneficiaries of large cash windfalls.
He convinced them to travel to Mexico under the guise of signing paperwork to claim their supposed inheritances.
While in Mexico, the men were handed boxes of “Elvan Chocolate Truffles,” which they were told to deliver to contacts in Hong Kong in exchange for payment.
Unbeknownst to them, the truffles concealed approximately three kilograms of methamphetamine, valued at up to £300,000.
The 67-year-old was intercepted at Heathrow Airport on October 18, followed by the 80-year-old, Heinz Magel, three days later.
Both were arrested and initially charged with drug smuggling, but the charges were later dropped after investigators confirmed they had been duped.
Ezeh, who was based in Mexico and coordinated drug shipments with other West African operatives, was arrested upon entering the UK on December 23, 2024.
He pleaded guilty to smuggling class A drugs at Isleworth Crown Court and was sentenced to nine years and three months in prison.
Authorities revealed that Ezeh’s mobile devices linked him to a West African organised crime network that exploited elderly and vulnerable people through financial scams, using them as couriers for illegal drugs under false pretences.
Peter Jones of the National Crime Agency condemned Ezeh’s actions, saying, “He showed zero regard for the trauma inflicted on these elderly men.
This case is a chilling reminder that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
Jones emphasised the agency’s ongoing commitment to cracking down on the smuggling of class A drugs into the UK.
