Jonathan and Holiness Ikpere are thought to have earned hundreds of thousands of pounds from selling banned bleaching concoctions from their home in Towpath Mead, Southsea.
They imported large quantities of cosmetics from countries in West Africa before selling them on and were caught in the UK’s first national investigation into the online sale of dangerous skin-whitening products.
According to Paul Gander, team leader of Southwark Trading Standards : “The Ikperes imported a large volume of cosmetics from Nigeria and made a small volume themselves on their premises. A lot of this stuff comes into this country from West Africa, Pakistan and even China.
When officers raided their home they discovered a mixing bowl in the kitchen, where the couple’s own brand of skin lighteners were being created. Holiness Ikpere even marketed the products with her own face on the labels.
Those who bought the products risked permanent skin and blood vessel damage and even infection.
