A Brazil returnee, Udechukwu Theophilus arrested by National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos, has excreted 60 of cocaine, he ingested.
NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, said:
“The suspect, who was arrested during inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the D-Arrival Hall of the Lagos airport on January 21, 2024, initially refused to undergo body scan, raising health concerns in a desperate bid to evade arrest.
“When he was offered other options, he accepted to be placed on excretion observation and shortly after he was ushered into NDLEA observatory, he excreted the first set of cocaine pellets, after which he expelled a total of 60 wraps of the class A drug weighing 1.279 kilograms in five excretions.
“In his statement, Udechukwu claimed he ingested the consignment in Brazil and was to discharge everything at the airport in Addis Ababa but could only excrete 15 pellets which he handed over to another member of his syndicate before his connecting flight to Nigeria was called.
“In the same vein, NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport on January 23, recovered a total of 599,900 pills weighing 385.40kg from an overstayed cargo at the SAHCO import shed of the Lagos airport after a joint examination with other agencies.
“The tramadol consignment had come into the country in two batches on KLM Royal Dutch Airline flights from Karachi, Pakistan between July 27 and August 1, 2023.
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“They were, however, placed under watch by NDLEA operatives since then.
“No fewer than 822 kilograms of cannabis sativa hidden in a fuel station located at Ashipa community along Badagry-Seme road were recovered by operatives of the Seme Special Area Command of NDLEA, while a suspect Sani Audu, 35, was arrested with 111.3kg of same substance at Maigatari town in Jigawa State on January 23.
“In Yobe state, two suspects: Mohammed Usman and Adamu Ma’azu were arrested on January 27, with 49 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 50kg at Damaturu motor park, Damaturu, while the duo of Paul Obor, 38, and Dennis Fuokorighe, 48, who were arrested on January 24, at a Navy check point, Itobe, Ofu LGA, Kogi State with 318 compressed blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 190.8kg concealed in a gold colour Honda Accord Car marked RBC 449AE, were handed over to the Kogi state command of the Agency on January 26, by men of the Nigeria Navy Ship, Lugard, Lokoja.
“In Kano, a suspect, Shamwilu Idris, 29, was arrested at Gadar Tamburawa area on January 25, with 271kg cannabis following the seizure of an abandoned 28.1kg of same substance at Rijiyar Lemo area of the state on January 24.
“Another suspect, Abubakar Salisu, 24, was nabbed at Kotun Wambai, Yan Awaki, area of Kano on January 26, with 600 bottles of codeine-based syrup while a total of 1, 306 blocks of cannabis weighing 886kg seized by the Police at Kwanar Dangora, area of the state were transferred to the Agency on January 24.
“A total of 87 compressed blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 73kg as well as 21, 346 pills of tramadol and 3,800 tablets of diazepam were recovered from a suspect, Musa Galadima on January 26, when his DAF truck marked GME 971 XD was intercepted at Lafiyawo, along Gombe – Bauchi road by NDLEA operatives. In Plateau state, Aminu Ubanta, 35, was nabbed on January 27, with 5.355kg cannabi at Layin Zana area of Jos,” the statement added.
