The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two businessmen with consignments of cocaine and heroin at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. The suspects, who were going to Hong Kong and France, concealed the drugs in their bellies.
According to a statement by the Director of NDLEA Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, the suspects were identified as ThankGod Chimamkpa Emenike, 38, and Agbo Chidike Prince, 41. They were nabbed at the boarding gate of the airport on Friday and Saturday, respectively, during the outward clearance of passengers on Air France and Ethiopian Airlines flights.
The statement said that the suspects were detained after their body scans revealed they ingested illicit drugs. After days in custody and a number of excretions, Emenike excreted 72 wraps of heroin weighing 1.171 kilograms, while Chidike discharged 49 pellets of cocaine with a total weight of 998.53 grams.
Chidike claimed he is a businessman dealing in spare parts at the Alaba International Market in the Ojo area of Lagos. He added that he was to be paid N3.5 million, which he intended to use to import goods from Hong Kong.
The statement also said that NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos, on Wednesday intercepted a Qatar Airways flight passenger going to Oman, Agbo Celestine Tochukwu, with a consignment of 58 parcels of skunk weighing 29.10 kg, while undergoing processes to board his flight at terminal 11 of the airport.
Tochukwu claimed he relocated to Oman on May 6 and has been working as a hotel attendant in Oman before venturing into drug trafficking.
The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the officers and men of the Abuja and Lagos airport commands for their vigilance and resilience in the ongoing offensive action against drug trafficking cartels across Nigeria. He urged them not to relent in their efforts to rid the nation of illicit drugs.