A 39-year-old suspected drug trafficker, Celestine Ikechukwu
Okonkwo has narrated his ordeal in the hands of drug barons who sponsored his
trip to Brazil under the guise of white collar job. The suspect who used to
sell used clothes at Idumota market said that he was promised mouth-watering
job opportunities here in Nigeria but was made to suffer untold hardship before
being used in smuggling cocaine.
NDLEA commander at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport
(NAIA) Abuja, Mr. Hamisu Lawan said that the suspect tested positive for
cocaine ingestion. According to Hamisu, “the suspect tested positive to drug
ingestion while returning from Sao Paulo, Brazil. He later excreted 70 wraps of
cocaine weighing 1.326kg”.
Celestine said that he was a happy man until the drug barons
approached him with a promise of better job abroad. “I was in my shop at
Idumota market where I sell used clothes. I will never forget the day a young
man came to my shop to buy shirt. He told me he is from Anambra and that he
lives in Brazil. He also promised to help me with a good job opportunity over
there. Honestly, I was excited and felt it was answer to my age long prayer. He
collected my phone number and left. This was how it all started” Celestine
stated.
After three months, the man called him that he was back to
Nigeria. In his words, “he prepared my international passport and also secured
a visa for me. Then he told me to get set to travel any time. Few weeks later,
he brought my ticket and I travelled to Brazil in January 2015. He gave me the
name of the hotel where I will stay pending when he will get me a job. I was eventually
abandoned to suffer. When I exhausted my money, I began to sleep in a church. I
also began to work for a Nigerian woman who owns a restaurant in order not to
starve to death”.
The suspect also stated that drug trafficking was not originally
discussed with him before he left Nigeria. “Nobody discussed drug trafficking
with me while in Nigeria. “It was after
I had lived in the church for some months that my sponsor located me in Sau
Paulo. I was told that there is no free lunch in Brazil and that I have
suffered and experienced difficult life in Brazil. This was the point they
introduced drug trafficking as the only way out. They said that was what people
do to make money. It took me about seven hours to swallow 70 wraps of cocaine.
I was inexperienced because it was my first time. They promised to pay me
400,000 naira when I get to Nigeria” he stated.
Celestine left Anambra to Lagos in 2010. He abandoned his
education in 1999 when he was in year two in junior secondary school. His wife
and daughter are living with his parents in the village. Speaking on his advice
to young people, the drug suspect said that there is no place like home. “God
bless Nigeria. There is no poverty here except the person chooses to be poor”
he stated.
Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade said that
the story of Celestine should serve as a warning to others who are seeking to
travel out of the country. In his words, “there is nothing wrong in seeking
greener pastures but people must be properly guided. Travelling out of the
country without money to pay for your accommodation and feeding is ill-advised.
Those who promise job opportunities abroad are after their selfish interest”.
Giade also added that the Agency is determined to investigate
and expose the sponsors of Celestine.
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