Seized peppers lead to cocaine

   Stanley Okpara, who was arrested by U.K. Border Force officers as he attempted to collect £13,000 ($20,800) worth of drugs that arrived in a freight shipment from Nigeria through Manchester Airport, was sentenced to seven years in jail.
   Okpara, a Sierra Leone national, attempted to smuggle peppers stuffed with cocaine in a set of 15 boxes that arrived from Nigeria via Istanbul, Turkey.
   According to The Mirror and the Manchester Evening News, officials secured the drugs weighing 200 grams and were of a high-level purity. The peppers themselves were rotting, which may have sped up the crates’ inspection.
   “Our officers work round the clock, and use a combination of the latest technology, sniffer dogs and their own expertise and experience to protect our borders,” said Border Force spokesman Pete Avery.
   The Mirror has images of the peppers available here.