The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said it has intercepted illegal drugs, especially cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and ephedrine, enroute Dubai, the United Arab Emirates and Europe, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
In a statement on Sunday, NDLEA spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi said that some persons behind the drugs were arrested. One of who, he said, is Iwuozor Chinedu, a Nigerian based in Athens, Greece.
According to the statement, Chinedu debarked from an Ethiopian airline flight on 3 February after NDLEA officers in the tarmac team intercepted two bags during a secondary check at the foot of the aircraft.
The statement reads: “When the bags were searched in the presence of Chinedu and other airport stakeholders, two big pellets wrapped with foil papers and some sprinkles of pepper were recovered from each of the two sides of one of the bags. The pellets were used to construct false walls at the sides of the bag.
“The two parcels contained substances that tested positive to cocaine and heroin, with a gross weight of 1.30kgs and 900grams. During preliminary interview, Chinedu claimed he came to Nigeria three months ago for a surgery which he was not comfortable doing in Athens. He further claimed he was given the bag to deliver in Greece for N2 million.
“Similarly, NDLEA operatives at the NAHCO export shed of the airport on 30 January arrested an expectant mother, Mrs. Gloria Onome, after 800grams of skunk were discovered concealed in two small radio sets she was sending to Dubai, United Arab Emirate.
“On the same day, operatives also intercepted a consignment going to Congo Kinshasa, containing 111 bottles of body cream that were used to conceal 24.50kgs of ephedrine, a chemical precursor and active ingredient to produce methamphetamine. The cargo was later traced to a trader at Alaba trade fair complex, Ojo area of Lagos, Onyekachukwu Uduekwelu, after the initial arrest of two freight agents.
“Another housewife, Mrs Okpara Victoria, was arrested at her residence on 37, Obashola street, Ijesha area of Lagos, on 27 January following the seizure of 300grams of skunk hidden in a bag of crayfish she was sending to Dubai, through a freight agent.
“In the same vein, operatives at the SAHCO export shed on January 26, intercepted a sack of new clothes going to Sierra Leone. When the consignment was searched, a parcel of white crystalline substance that tested positive to methamphetamine with a gross weight of 1kg, as well as 300grams of skunk and 100grams ecstasy (MDMA), were recovered. A freight agent, Mfonabasi Joseph, has been arrested in connection with the seizure”.
