BY Maryam Abdullahi
Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested seven persons alleged to be involved in the smuggling of illicit items worth 37.3 kilogrammes in Lagos.
Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, in a statement on Sunday, said the alleged traffickers were arrested in five separate operations in Lagos.
According to him, some of the illicit drugs were hidden inside Ankara dress buttons and packaged tins of ‘banga soup’ (a delicacy in southern Nigeria).
“The first attempt to bring into Nigeria 76 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.150kg was made by Agudozie Peter Ihie on 25th May, 2021, but was arrested during inward security clearance of passengers on Qatar airline from Kenya, at the E-arrival hall of Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos,” the statement reads.
“At the point of arrest, he was found in possession 36 pellets of cocaine concealed in his pants. While under observation, he excreted additional 40 pellets. During preliminary interrogation, he confessed to have swallowed the drugs in Nairobi but became pressed during the transit period in Doha and excreted some wraps on board the aircraft en route Lagos.
“Barely two hours after the arrest of Agudozie Peter Ihie for cocaine ingestion, NDLEA operatives at the SAHCO export shed of the Lagos airport also intercepted 4.2 kilograms of heroin bound for Italy. Two freight forwarders have been arrested in connection to the seizure. During preliminary interview, one of the suspects stated that the consignment belongs to one of his customers based in Italy, and that it was sent to him from Benin, Edo state through a transport company.
“On the 26th May, 2021, during inward security clearance of passengers on Qatar airline from Doha, NDLEA operatives at the E-arrival hall of the airport also arrested one Nnakaihe Ikechukwu (a.k.a. Peprah Livinus) with 600 grams of cocaine. The illicit drug was cleverly concealed inside Ankara dress buttons.
“The suspect who hails from Imo state however fraudulently obtained a Ghanaian passport using Peprah Livinus as his name. He is suspected to be a member of some of the illicit drug trafficking groups with multiple passports bearing different names in order to evade detection by security agencies.
“On the same date, NDLEA operatives at the NAHCO export shed of MMIA intercepted 30.150 kg of Cannabis Sativa heading to Manchester in the United Kingdom via British Airways and arrested one Anyanwu Chika who is a cargo bag stitcher in connection to the bid. The drug was neatly concealed inside 30 pieces of bankus palm nut cream tin (banga soup) after emptying the real content.
“In his confessional statement, he admitted to have been contracted by one of his customers based in Manchester and had negotiated with him for the sum of one million naira but was paid only seven hundred thousand naira.”
Babafemi added that on June 3, a total of 11 parcels of heroin weighing 1.2kg and concealed inside packs of noodles were intercepted at the Lagos airport.
“The drug was to go with Ethiopian Airline to Malaysia via Addis-Ababa. A freight agent and an errand boy for the owner of the exhibit have been arrested in connection to the foiled bid,” he added.
According to the spokesman, Buba Marwa, NDLEA chairman, commended the officials for the arrests and “charged them to remain unrelenting and always watch out for the disingenuous modes of concealment traffickers employ to beat detection”.
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