A DRUG smuggler who arrived at Bristol Airport having swallowed 63 packets of cocaine has admitted the offence in court.

Izuchukwu Nwafor was rumbled by UK Border Agency staff at the Lulsgate terminal after they thought something was not quite right.

The 36-year-old, from London, arrived from Lagos via Brussels on July 11 and after being questioned at passport control, he was arrested after officers suspected he had swallowed drugs.

He was moved to a detention centre near Heathrow Airport and after several days Nwafor was found to have swallowed 63 packages, which contained a substance believed to be cocaine.

The dual British and Nigerian national, of Thorburn Square, Southwark, appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates Court last week where he admitted a charge of drug smuggling.

Assistant director for UK Border Agency Criminal and Financial Investigations, Peter Avery, said: “The concealment technique used by this individual shows the lengths to which some people will go in attempt to avoid detection by our officers

“This drugs seizure shows the robust controls we have in place at our ports and airports.

“The UK Border Agency is at the forefront of the fight to stop drugs, weapons, other contraband and illegal immigrants entering the UK and our officers are on constant alert to keep them out of the country.”

The contents of the packages are still undergoing tests, but Nwafor was charged with drug smuggling and admitted the offence.

He is due to be sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on August 26.

Just last week a Malaysian woman suspected of attempting to come to Britain illegally was stopped twice in one day.

Once when trying to board a Eurostar train in Paris and just a few hours later UK Border Agency officers stopped her again at Bristol Airport.

Agency officers use hi-tech search equipment to combat immigration crime and detect banned and restricted goods that smugglers attempt to bring into the country.

They use an array of search techniques including sniffer dogs, carbon dioxide detectors, heartbeat monitors and scanners - as well as visual searches.