Drug-dealing soldier faces a lengthy prison term

A SOLDIER who used his barracks in Edinburgh as a cover for his drug dealing operation is facing a lengthy jail sentence.

Rifleman Osita Omenyima was found guilty yesterday of being concerned in the supply of cocaine over an eight-month period.

Omenyima, 35, who was serving in the Rifles Regiment, had cocaine sent to him at Redford Barracks from a cousin in Caracas, Venezuela.

He thought that no-one would suspect a parcel sent to a soldier at an army barracks contained tens of thousands of pounds of cocaine.

But, his scheme went wrong when Border Agency officials examined a package which consisted of three books, pamphlets, a prayer written on a piece of paper and three plastic boxes containing a total of 38 highlighter pens.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that when Border Agency officials opened the parcel, which came into the UK via Coventry Airport, and examined the pens they discovered 30 per cent pure cocaine with a potential street value of 80,000 hidden inside them.

The Border Agency, along with the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, launched an undercover operation to catch Omenyima.

One policeman posed as a delivery driver for Parcelforce and handed over the package on 3 September, last year, while another eight officers carried out undercover surveillance.

Omenyima, of Dreghorn Gardens, Edinburgh, was convicted of being concerned in the supply of cocaine between 7 January and 3 September, last year, at Coventry International Airport and Redford Barracks, Edinburgh after a five-day trial.

Omenyima, originally from Nigeria, will be sentenced next month at the high Court in Edinburgh.