Abuja, Oct. 8, 2023 – A 67-year-old man, Chukwuemeka Clement, was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for ingesting 100 wraps of cocaine at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja
Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA Spokesman, announced this in a statement on Sunday.
He said Chukwuemeka was arrested on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023 during the inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight 951 from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and taken for body scan which revealed multiple pellets in his stomach.
“While under observation, he excreted a total of 100 wraps of cocaine weighing 2.195 kilograms in four excretions.
“In his statement, he claimed to have spent 30 years in Brazil, Ethiopia and Thailand, while he was once married, without a child, but lost his wife.
“He added that was why he decided to go into drug trafficking to raise enough money to marry a new wife and start life afresh,” the NDLEA said.
NDLEA operatives at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) in Kano, on Oct. 3, also intercepted a 45-year-old woman, Bilkisu Mohammed Bello, while preparing to board a Saudia Airlines flight to Saudi Arabia.
“While being interviewed, she confessed that pellets of cocaine given to her to swallow before her flight were kept in a house in Farawa area of Kano.
“When she led NDLEA officers to the house, 52 wraps of the illicit substance with a total weight of 767grams were recovered.”
The NDLEA operatives, supported by officers and men of the Nigerian Army, Civil Defence Corps and Amotekun personnel on Tuesday, Oct. 3, stormed James town in Ogunmakin in Obafemi Owode local government area of Ogun State where they located and destroyed 10.38 tonnes of cannabis sativa farm covering over 4.152 hectares.
“While on their way back from the operation, the team also intercepted
a truck marked FS548XN carrying a 40ft container loaded with logs of wood.
A search of the container led to the recovery of two bags of cannabis sativa weighing 20kgs, while six suspects, Ahmed Yusuf, Olaniyi Babatunde, Adedeji Babatunde, Richard John, Osolale Olamilekan and Abdulazeez Saied, who were in the truck were arrested,” the NDLEA said.
On Sunday, Oct. 1, NDLEA operatives raided Obi Camp in Owan West LGA, Edo State where 30 sacks of skunk weighing 300kgs concealed in charcoal were evacuated from an old dilapidated mud house.
Similarly, two cannabis farms measuring 1.179065 hectares at Igbanke forest in Orhiowon local government area of the state were identified and destroyed on Friday, Oct. 6, while four suspects, Tersoo Zaria, 28; Ifeanyi Osai, 53; Moses David, 19, and Daniel Gabriel, 20, were arrested. (GBN)
