No fewer than 14 suspected drug barons have been caged in the National Drug Law
Enforcement Agency, NDLEA's,
net with over N300million worth of various types of illicit drugs.
The suspects were apprehended at the
Murtala Mohammed International Airport, (MMIA), Lagos with 33.655kg of narcotic
drugs.
Also discovered by the narcotics agents were their various methods of drug concealment adopted by drug traffickers to
escape arrest this end of year season but were not lucky as their ploy failed them.
Daily Signpost gathered that eight of the suspects
were caught trying to smuggle cocaine into the country from Brazil and
Argentina, while six others were intercepted while taking drugs to Hong Kong,
Dubai, Italy and Brazil.
According to the NDLEA
commander at the Lagos Airport, Mr. Hamza Umar,
“four of the suspects were
apprehended in one flight, Royal Air Marco on their way from Brazil. Some of
the seized drugs were dissolved in water and absorbed in two towels and a T-shirt.
Others were industrially packed in tin foods, body cream packs while some of
the suspects ingested the drugs in total disregard of the health implications. The
estimated value of the seized drugs is about three hundred million naira (N300,000,000)”, Umar stated
"The names of the suspects
are as follows; Okafor Chijioke Franklin 25 years old caught with 13.735kg
cocaine in tin food, Okeke Uchenna Aloy Pascal 29 year old caught with 3.425kg
cocaine absorbed in towels, Akpobome Godwin Ujunwa 32 years old found with
1.730kg of cocaine absorbed in T-shirt, Ani Monday, 37 years old found with 300
grammes of cocaine, Madububa Amaechi Joseph, 38 years old ingested 845 grammes
of cocaine, Amuka Sunday, 26 years old ingested 1.505kg cocaine and Ijoganu
Edache, 25 year old ingested 1.240kg of cocaine".
Also to end the year in NDLEA net include Obiefuna
Tochukwu Kenneth, 40 years old found with 500 grammes of cocaine, Ogbodu
Williams, 48 years caught with 1.650kg of cocaine, Nwakama Walter Chinonso, 32
years old caught with 1.060kg of cocaine, Egbueme Benedict McCarthy, 31 years
old found with 1.190kg of cocaine, Nwachukwu Chimeremeze Leonard, 38 years old
found with 975 grammes of heroin/cocaine, Adebayo Wasiu Abiodun, 30 years old
caught with 5kg of cannabis and Ofoegbu Godwin Ujunwa caught with 505 grammes
of cocaine.
Investigation revealed that
most of the suspects engaged in drug trafficking to get money for the end of
year celebrations. Akpobome Godwin Greg was promised the sum of N2million to smuggle 1.730kg of cocaine absorbed in a T-shirt from Argentina to
Nigeria. Okafor Chijioke Franklin was promised the sum of ten thousand dollars
while Nwakama Walter Chinonso would have been paid the sum of five thousand
dollars if he had not been caught.
Twenty-five years old Okafor
Chijioke Franklin had the largest quantity of drugs. He was found in possession
of 13.735kg cocaine concealed inside tin foods on his way from Brazil. According
to Okafor,
“I have no one to help me. I traveled to Brazil a year ago in
search of job opportunities. I used to hawk toys in Brazil to sustain myself. A
friend promised to pay for my ticket to Nigeria to spend the end of year
festive season. He was the person that gave me the drugs packed inside tin foods”.
For Egbueme Benedict McCarthy, who
was going to Hong Kong where drug trafficking attracts capital punishment said
his arrest was a divine intervention to save his life. Hear him:
“I used to sell used
amplifiers in Abuja. I ingested 55 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.190kg. It was my
classmate in the secondary school who now lives in Tanzania that sent the drugs
to me and assisted me with my travel documents and expenses. I had no idea of
the punishment for drug traffickers in Hong Kong until after my arrest. God has
rescued me from death and I will never smuggle drugs again in my life,” Egbueme
stated.
Chairman/Chief Executive of
the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade described the arrests and seizures as a good way to end
the year.
“this is a good way to end the year. The Agency shall
continue to detect hidden drugs and prosecute offenders in line with the NDLEA
Act”.
Giade added that the Agency
shall also intensify its public awareness programmes to educate the public on
the dangers of drug trafficking; stressing that the suspects arrested with
drugs on their way to Hong Kong would have paid the ultimate price if not for
the intervention of the Agency.
"The suspects would be
charged to court soon," Mitchell Ofoyeju told Daily Signpost
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