NDLEA arrests businessman with 6kg cocaine at Lagos airport

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, Abugu Oliver Ikechukwu, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 6.10 kilograms of liquid cocaine into the country through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

The 41-year-old suspect was arrested on Thursday, upon his arrival from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight.

The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday.

According to the agency, a thorough search of the suspect’s luggage led to the discovery of 14 shirts and towels impregnated with liquid cocaine, which had been dried and neatly ironed to evade detection.

The agency said the illicit drug was concealed in the clothing items imported from Brazil.

In his statement to investigators, Abugu claimed he had lived in Brazil for more than 14 years, where he operates an African restaurant.

He said he travelled to Nigeria to visit his wife and purchase food items in bulk for his business.

The arrest was part of a nationwide crackdown that also led to the arrest of a 60-year-old woman and a person living with disability (PWD) for alleged involvement in drug trafficking.

In Abia State, a 60-year-old woman, Chidimma Sunday, was arrested with 1.8 kilograms of skunk at Umuna Autonomous Community in Isialangwa North Local Government Area.

Members of the Umuosu Vigilante Group initially apprehended her before handing her over to NDLEA operatives on June 10.

Similarly, in Rivers State, NDLEA officers arrested 28-year-old Abubakar Usman, a person living with disability, during a raid in Rumuokoro, Port Harcourt.

Recovered from him were 400 grams of skunk, five grams of methamphetamine, 100 grams of tramadol, five grams of swinol and 18 grams of diazepam.

In Delta State, operatives arrested a 36-year-old suspect, Onya Jude, in Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area.

Commenting on the operations, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), commended officers of the MMIA, Abia, Rivers, Kano, Kwara, Delta, Gombe, Lagos and FCT commands for the arrests and seizures.

He urged personnel of the agency nationwide to sustain efforts aimed at reducing both the supply and demand for illicit drugs.

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