The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two men at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos for illicit drug trafficking.”
According to a statement issued on Sunday, 7 April, both traffickers who were en route to Asia, were found with tons of hard drugs when arrested.
One of the traffickers, Freeman Ogbonna, was set to be heading for Delhi in India last Sunday, 31 March, when he was arrested by operatives of the agency.
Mr Freeman was said to have planned to fly with a fake Liberian passport bearing the name Carr Bismark.
The agency found that Freeman had ingested 80 wraps of cocaine operatives of the agency arrested himbody scan during routine screening, from which he tested positive for ingestion of illicit drugs.
The agency said: “Freeman was placed under observation where he started to manifest signs of discomfort, obviously choked by the volume of illicit drugs in his stomach and another substance taken to hold back excretion.
“The suspect soon began to retch before starting to vomit and excrete wraps of cocaine, and eventually passed out a total of 80 wraps of cocaine weighing 889 grams through his mouth and anus over a period of four days. The great risk that almost took his life, notwithstanding.”
Another culprit
Also, the agency said Imran Olalekan was caught with drugs stashed in his backpack on Wednesday, 3 April.
The man, according to NDLEA, was bound for Oman, a country in West Asia, and was attempting to check in when a false bottom concealment of drugs was discovered in his language.
The agency said it also arrested Ishola Olalekan, who was as said to have recruited the alleged trafficker for the role.
“Imran Taofeek Olalekan said he returned from Dubai some years ago but still has a valid residence permit on his old passport. He claimed he was promised N1,500,000 if he successfully delivered the consignment in Oman, while his recruiter, Ishola, was to be paid N200,000.
“Curiously, when the two bags were completely unpacked at the NDLEA office, a charm was found in one of the bags while another one was found on the drug mule who confessed that he traveled to Ibadan, Oyo state to meet with an ‘Alfa’ that prepared the charm for him to ensure he was not caught during the trip,” NDLEA said in its statement.
NDLEA said these are two of the many cases of trafficking attempts recorded in the last week.
More arrests
On the same day Mr Imran was arrested, the agency said the smuggling of 2,144 parcels of Colorado, alongside a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 1,072kg, into the country was intercepted at the Tincan Seaport in Lagos.
READ ALSO: NDLEA intercepts Vietnam-bound businessman with cocaine consignment at Abuja airport
The agency disclosed that “the seizure was made during a joint examination with Customs Service and other stakeholders of a container marked GAOU 6699215 coming from Montreal, but originated from Toronto, Canada.”
The drugs packed were said to have been concealed in used cars, engines, automobile doors, tyres, and used household goods.
NDLEA also revealed that an arrest was also made in Ogun on Thursday, 4 April, “when a certain Wasiu Jimoh was caught in possession of 84 parcels of cannabis sativa weighing 62 kg during a raid.”
Also in Kano, North-west Nigeria, the agency said a 48-year-old suspect, Gidado Sani, who reportedly jumped the bail granted him by a Federal High Court on drug offence charges, was re-arrested with 85 blocks of cannabis weighing 50.1 kilograms during the week.
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