Man who imported 1kg of cocaine in his stomach jailed after reaching plea deal

A 54-year-old man was jailed for eight years and fined after reaching a plea deal and admitting to importing cocaine.

Stanley Anayo Chukwu Chukwukere, a Nigerian national, was accused of importing almost  1kg of cocaine hidden in his stomach and of being in possession of the drugs in circumstances that denoted it was not for personal use.

The man was arraigned in July last year after he was stopped at the Malta International Airport upon arriving from Brussels on flight KM41.

The police were carrying out a joint exercise with customs officials at the time, when they noticed Chukwukere, who was wearing a white baseball cap and carrying a small black backpack, acting suspiciously.

The accused was asked to pass his bag through the X-ray machine, which he did.

The police then asked him some preliminary questions but were not satisfied with the answers, the court heard. During his arraignment, police inspector Jonathan Pace told the court that Chukwukere only had €300 on him. He also showed some documents to the police.

A strip search was ordered, but nothing was found. When subsequently asked to sign a consent form agreeing to undergo an X-ray scan, Chukwukere told police he was not carrying anything inside him.

The accused claimed police stopped him because he is Black. The police inspector refuted the claim, pointing out that others had also been stopped.

Pace insisted the man undergo an X-ray over fears he could die if he was carrying capsules and they burst in his stomach.

Sometime after midnight, the man admitted to carrying around 100 capsules. He was taken to Mater Dei Hospital where he excreted 10 to 20 capsules at a time.

When he was arraigned, Chukwukere denied the charges.

However, on February 23, 2026 he pleaded guilty.

The Attorney General and the accused filed a joint application in which they made reference to Chukwukere’s guilty plea and declared that an agreement had been reached on punishment, recommending that he is sentenced for eight years and fined €15,000.

The court took into consideration that the bill of indictment had not yet been issued. It also took into account that the man had been carrying 981.4g cocaine with 87 percent purity and that it had an estimated street value of €57,903.

The court upheld the deal and jailed the man for eight years and fined him €15,000. It ordered him to pay €1,559.37 in court expenses.

The Criminal Court ordered the forfeiture of all his movable and immovable property, and directed the AG to file a note within fifteen days in which it declares whether the drugs in these proceedings are needed in proceedings against third parties or whether to order their destruction.

Madam Justice Natasha Galea Sciberras presided over the Criminal Court.