NDLEA Busts Drug Trafficking Syndicate As Paris-Bound Passenger Excretes 111 Wraps Of Cocaine

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Emmanuel Okechuku Orjinze, a 48-year-old Paris-bound businessman, for ingesting 111 wraps of cocaine.

This came after days of observation in the agency’s custody following his arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

According to a statement released on Sunday by the anti-narcotics agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, Okechukwu, who also claimed to be a professional footballer in Europe, was arrested last Tuesday during the outward clearance of Air France flight AF 878 from Abuja to Paris.

He stated that after a body scan confirmed he had consumed illicit drugs, he was taken into custody and excreted 111 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.603 kilogrammes over three days.

According to Babafemi, the suspect claimed to work in the maritime industry while also looking for a European football club to hire him.

In another crackdown, NDLEA officers at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport dismantled another drug trafficking syndicate.

According to Babafemi, this came after the arrest of four members of the network and the seizure of 8 kilogrammes of methamphetamine and 7.6 kilogrammes of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis imported from South Africa.

He revealed that the syndicate’s lid was blown off when an airport official was intercepted with a backpack and a bag at the departure hall of Terminal 1 by NDLEA officers with the assistance of Aviation Security officers last Tuesday, with a search of the bags leading to the discovery of the illicit substances.

He said a quick follow-up operation in Lagos’ Ajao Estate area resulted in the arrest of two other syndicate members: Chris Nwadozie and Chinedu Nwaosu.

Babafemi stated that further investigation resulted in the arrest of another cartel member working within the airport system on Saturday.

In a related development, NDLEA agents at the Lagos airport’s NAHCO export shed arrested Sonubi Abiodun for attempting to ship eight parcels of cocaine weighing two kilogrammes concealed in three out of six paint buckets containing shea butter packaged for export to the United Kingdom last Wednesday.

On Tuesday, May 21, NDLEA officers arrested Odumegwu Obijo in Igbo Elerin, Ojo Local Government Area, Lagos State, for producing and distributing skuchies, a mixture of black currant and illicit drugs. Babafemi added that 2,480 litres of the New Psychoactive Substance, NPS, were recovered from his clandestine factory when he was arrested.

In Cross River state, while Ogar Emmanuel was arrested with 2.5 kilogrammes of cannabis at Ukpada Utugwan village, 29 sacks of the same substance weighing 290 kilogrammes were discovered in the warehouse of another suspect, Usani Ikpi, who is still at large. Three suspects, Sa’adu Sule, 23, Mukhtar Nura, 23, and Hamza Nura, 18, were apprehended last Friday in Jabiri Funtua, Katsina state, with 129 blocks of cannabis weighing 70 kilogrammes coming from Ogere, Ogun state.

The spokesman added that five suspects, including Ezekiel Munda, 30, and Sule Mustapha, 21, were apprehended by NDLEA operatives on Thursday, May 23rd, during raids at Karu Abattoir, Jikwoyi, and Tora Bora hill areas of FCT, Abuja, where 95.01 kilogrammes of cannabis and various quantities of opioids were recovered.

On Wednesday, May 22, operatives in Edo state arrested Zekere Sufianu, 45, a physically challenged alleged notorious drug dealer, in Auchi town. At the time of his arrest, he had 751 grammes of Loud, 178 grammes of tramadol, and swinol pills.

He revealed the various commands of the agency across the country.
The War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign has continued over the last week.

Meanwhile, while commending the officers and men of the NAIA, MMIA, FCT, Lagos, Cross River, Katsina, and Edo commands of the agency for their outstanding feats in the past week, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) also praised their counterparts in all commands across the country for intensifying their WADA advocacy lectures.