Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted no less than 101 parcels of cocaine concealed in eight children’s duvets at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
The agency disclosed that the illicit drug was brought into the country by a 52-year-old Brazilian returnee, Akudirinwa Hilary Uchenna, who hails from Oru East Local Government Area of Imo State.
A statement released by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, yesterday, said Uchenna was arrested on Saturday, at the D-Arrival Hall of the Lagos airport upon his return from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Doha, aboard Qatar Airline flight, while the 101 parcels of the class A drug, with a gross weight of 13.2 kilogram, were recovered from his only check-in bag.
During a preliminary interview, Uchenna, who claimed to be a carpenter, confessed that he was to be paid N5 million for trafficking the drug after successfully delivering the consignment in Lagos.
In a related development, big pellets of skunk concealed in detergent containers have been intercepted at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu.
A 37-year-old South African returnee, Ezekwesili Afamefune, brought in the consignment weighing 730grams aboard Ethiopian Airline flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ezekwesili is from Awka south local government area of Anambra state.
In Edo state, a 24-year-old drug dealer, Christian John, was arrested by NDLEA operatives in Egbeta, Ovia North East LGA, for selling assorted illicit drugs which include sachets of drugged Milo beverage, cannabis sativa, swinol and tramadol tablets, while in Zamfara state, one Chibuzor Uba, 30, was arrested last Friday with 1,955 ampules of pentazocine at Kaura Namoda area of Zamfara state.
A cross-border drug trafficker, Stanley Chibuzor, 21, was, last Friday, arrested by officers of the Marine Unit of NDLEA stationed at Oron beach, Oron, Akwa Ibom state. The suspect, who hails from Ihiala, Anambra state, was nabbed with 11,190 tablets of tramadol during the outward clearance of passengers traveling to Cameroon.
In Ondo state, a drug dealer who produces and sells skuchies, Oluwaseun Agboola, 25, was arrested last Thursday, at his Igoba, Second Gate, Akure residence, where 73 bottles of skuchies weighing 77kg stocked in his kitchen were recovered.
In Lagos, an early morning raid in the notorious Akala, Mushin area of the state, on Saturday, led to the seizure of 746.25 kilograms of cannabis.
While he commended officers and men of the MMIA, AIIA, Edo, Zamfara, Akwa Ibom, Lagos and Ondo state Commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman and Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd), charged them and their colleagues across the country to remain focussed and abstain from acts capable of compromising or jeopardising the collective goal of ridding Nigeria of drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
