BEVERLY HILLS, May 02, (THEWILL) – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has discovered 193 wraps of cocaine inside packs of sweets at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos.
Anti-narcotics officials discovered the substance, which tested positive to cocaine and weighed 3.230kgs, in the luggage of a 24- year-old female passenger from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
NDLEA commander at the Lagos Airport, Ahmadu Garba, said the suspect, who hails from Edo State, was found in possession of the drug while a suspected member of the drug cartel in Lagos was successfully traced and apprehended.
“One Igbinoba Uche Rose, who concealed 3.230kgs inside sweets, was apprehended at the arrival hall during inward screening of passengers. A suspected member of the cartel, Ofor Kamsochukwu Chimezie was arrested on a follow-up operation. The suspects are being investigated,” Garba said.
The suspect regretted her actions saying: “I work as a clerical staff after I completed my primary school because there was no money to further my studies. I have suffered hardship in life but a man offered to assist me set up my personal business. He promised to pay me half a million naira. This was how I got involved in this problem.”
Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah, expressed satisfaction at the arrest and warned drug traffickers to desist from their criminal acts, saying, “Drug criminals should shun their unlawful act because the Agency has perfected strategies to detect narcotics notwithstanding how cleverly they were concealed.
“Recent drug seizures clearly reflect the reformation of the NDLEA as an intelligence-led organisation. We are determined to trace major traffickers behind the scene and prosecute the barons.
“We are working hard to perfect the practice of aggressive follow-up on every case from the first to the last person behind every case of drug trafficking. Drug barons shall have no escape route. This way, drug trafficking will either be drastically reduced or completely eliminated from our society.”
Story by David Oputah
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