NDLEA nabs Iran-bound bizman with 53 wraps of cocaine at P/Harcourt airport

The National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a businessman, Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian, at the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA), for ingesting 53 wraps of cocaine, while on his way to Tehran Khomeini, Iran.

This came barely two weeks after operatives of the NDLEA at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) Kano, intercepted a 60-year-old businessman Chinedu Leonard Okigbo heading to Iran with 65 pellets of cocaine in his stomach.

Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday in a statement in Abuja, said that Ezemokwe, 44, was arrested on Saturday, 7th June, while trying to board Qatar Airways flight QR1434 flying to Tehran Khomeini in Iran via Doha.

“After a body scan proved positive to ingestion of illicit drug, he was placed on excretion observation during which he expelled 53 wraps of cocaine in six excretions with a total weight of 1.172kg.

“The suspect claimed to have gone into the criminal trade two years ago, moving between the West African sub-region and Iran,” Babafemi said.

Similarly, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos in the early hours of Saturday, 14th June, intercepted an Italy bound passenger Edobor Ambrose Ali on an Air France flight.

The NDLEA officers in collaboration with the Aviation Security of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), discovered drug consignments hidden in the luggage of the suspect during baggage scanning at the tarmac.

The suspect was thereafter brought down from the aircraft for baggage identification after which a thorough search of the bag led to the discovery of 14, 410 pills of tramadol 225mg and 200mg concealed in winter jackets.

In his statement, Ebodor said he lives in Italy where he was hired and sent on the all expense paid trip to Nigeria to courier the drug consignments to Milan, Italy for a fee of 2000 Euros.

At the Port Harcourt Ports in Onne, Rivers State, NDLEA operatives on Friday 13th June intercepted a shipment of 157,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup worth over N1.1bn in street value, during a joint examination of a watch-listed container with men of Customs Service and other security agencies.

The opioid consignments were hidden behind 257 cartons of ceramic sanitary wares.

Meanwhile, at least, three suspects: Friday Achibong Joseph, 47; Abraham Anthony Willy, 21; and Utibe David Okon, 24, were arrested on

Thursday 12th June when NDLEA operatives raided a warehouse in Obereakai, Odukpani LGA, Cross River State, where a total of 2,687kgs skunk, a strain of cannabis, was recovered.

Same day in Bauchi State state, NDLEA officers acting on credible intelligence, arrested the duo of Iriemi Imonikhe, 49, and Sa’idu Ladan, 30, along Bauchi -Jos road after 195 blocks of skunk weighing 287kgs were discovered in their Toyota Camry car marked AKL 201 GG.

Also, while 14 jumbo sacks of skunk weighing 560kgs were recovered from a wooden boat at Oniru beach in Lagos by operatives of the Marine Command of NDLEA on Thursday 12th June, officers of the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport Maiduguri (MBIAM) same day arrested two businessmen: Ishaku Abdullahi, 30; and Buba Usman, 32, at the arrival hall of the domestic wing of the airport with various quantities of ecstacy pills and skunk packaged in fanciful wraps labelled as ‘Lychee’ and ‘Porro Legal’.

While commending the officers and men of MMIA, PHIA, MBIAM, PHPC, Marine, Cross River, and Bauchi Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) praised their compatriots in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.