NDLEA arrests businessman at Kano airport with ‘127 wraps of cocaine hidden in private part’

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Ejiofor Godwin, a businessman, for ingesting and concealing 127 wraps of cocaine in his private part and stomach.

In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said the 52-year-old businessman was arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.

He said Emeka, who operates boutiques in Lagos and Onitsha in Anambra state, was intercepted upon arrival from Bangkok, Thailand, via Ethiopian Airlines flight ET941 on October 8, following credible intelligence.

“He was taken for body scan which confirmed he ingested illicit drugs and had some concealed in his private part,” Babafemi said.

“A total of 58 wraps of cocaine were immediately recovered from his pant after which he was taken for excretion observation during which he excreted 69 pellets of cocaine in seven excretions bringing the total number of wraps of the class A drug recovered from him to 127 weighing 1.388 kilograms.”

Operatives of the agency intercepted three drug consignments at a courier company in Lagos, heading to the United Kingdom on October 9 and 10.

Babafemi said one shipment contained 1.74 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed in blocks of glass ceramics, while another held 114 grams and 168 grams of pentazocine and tramadol injections, respectively.

He said the third consignment contained 48 grams of tramadol capsules hidden in Vitamin C containers.

The agency also thwarted attempts by criminal syndicates to ship 2.6 kilograms of skunk and 422 grams of tapentadol concealed in black soap tablets to Turkey.

Babafemi said 169 grams of cocaine were hidden in handbags to Australia, and 568 grams of “loud”, a potent strain of cannabis, were concealed in herbal containers to the United Arab Emirates.

Babafemi said at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, officers intercepted 27,510 pills of rohypnol concealed in sachets of alcoholic drinks bound for South Africa.

Following the initial arrest of a freight agent and a cab driver linked to the consignment, a follow-up operation led to the arrest of the alleged mastermind, 46-year-old Samuel Omoruyi, popularly known as Yellow, at Oyingbo market in Lagos on October 2.

He said on the same day, Enehizena Uyimwen, an Italy-based businessman, was apprehended while attempting to export 3,700 pills of tramadol 225mg and 2,600 tablets of tapentadol 200mg concealed in food items to Italy.

Uyimwen reportedly said he was trafficking the drugs for another person for a fee of €945.

OTHER ARRESTS 

Babafemi said NDLEA operatives made several arrests and seizures across Edo, Osun, Rivers, Katsina, and Ondo states.

He said the home of Emmanuel Sunday, a suspect in Ugbekpe Ekperi, Etsako central LGA in Edo, was raided and 47 kilograms of skunk were recovered.

“Two suspects: Nureni Ayobami Eleweodo, 48, and Oladejo Taiwo, 52, were on Wednesday 8th October arrested at Omifufun village, Ife South LGA, Osun state following the seizure of 635 kilograms of skunk from their Toyota Hiace bus marked DDA65ZY,” Babafemi said.

“Two other suspects: Timothy Omiwole, 41, and Isaac Achiatan, 36, were nabbed at same location with 100kg skunk recovered from them along with their motorcycle.”

In Rivers, two suspects — Okoro Julius and Onyebuchi Nwibo — were arrested in different parts of Port Harcourt after 8.5 kilograms of skunk were seized.

In Katsina, operatives nabbed Sulaiman Kalalu after 29.5 kilograms of the same substance were found in his house at Bayan Asiti, Jibia town.

In Niger state, officers arrested 29-year-old Yisa Daniel at New Bussa, where they recovered 22,000 tramadol capsules, 800 ampoules of pentazocine injection, and 150,000 pills of exol-5.

He said a separate operation in Ondo state led to the recovery of 312 kilograms of skunk from a bush at Ologede camp, Ogbese, while two suspects were intercepted along the Benin-Lagos expressway with 141.8 kilograms of skunk in their vehicle.

In Kaduna, another suspect, Rufai Ahmed, popularly known as Farin Malam, was arrested at the Abuja–Kaduna toll gate with 150,000 pills of exol-5 being transported from Lagos to Katsina.

Babafemi noted that NDLEA commands across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign with lectures held in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities.

He said the outreach is aimed at deepening awareness about the dangers of drug abuse among young people.