NDLEA Arrests Businessman Heading To Iran With 53 Wraps Of Cocaine
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 44-year-old businessman, Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian, at the Port Harcourt International Airport for ingesting 53 wraps of cocaine.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed in a statement on Sunday that Ezemokwe was nabbed on June 7 while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight en route to Tehran, Iran, via Doha.
According to Babafemi, a body scan revealed the suspect had ingested illicit drugs.
He was subsequently placed under observation, during which he excreted 53 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.172kg across six bowel movements.
Ezemokwe reportedly confessed to joining the drug trade two years ago, operating between West Africa and Iran.
This arrest comes barely two weeks after another businessman, 60-year-old Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, was caught at the Kano airport with 65 pellets of cocaine in his stomach while heading to Iran.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, in the early hours of Saturday, 14th June, intercepted an Italy-bound passenger, Edobor Ambrose Ali, with drug consignments hidden in his luggage.
Working with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), NDLEA agents discovered 14,410 pills of tramadol concealed in winter jackets.
Edobor claimed he was hired for an all-expense-paid drug courier trip from Nigeria to Milan in exchange for €2,000.
Meanwhile, at the Onne Ports in Rivers State, NDLEA operatives on Friday, 13th June, intercepted a container holding 157,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup valued at over ₦1.1 billion.
The drugs were hidden behind cartons of ceramic sanitary wares.
The seizure was made in collaboration with Customs and other security agencies.
Three suspects — Friday Achibong Joseph, 47; Abraham Anthony Willy, 21; and Utibe David Okon, 24 — were arrested on 12th June when NDLEA operatives raided a warehouse in Obereakai, Odukpani LGA, Cross River State, recovering 2,687kg of skunk.
Also on 12th June in Bauchi, officers acting on intelligence arrested Iriemi Imonikhe, 49, and Sa’idu Ladan, 30, on the Bauchi-Jos road with 195 blocks of skunk weighing 287kg in their car.
That same day, NDLEA’s Marine Command recovered 560kg of skunk from a wooden boat at Oniru beach in Lagos, while operatives at the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport, Maiduguri, apprehended two businessmen, Ishaku Abdullahi, 30, and Buba Usman, 32, with ecstasy pills and skunk disguised in fancy wraps labelled ‘Lychee’ and ‘Porro Legal’.
Commending the agency’s operatives, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the dedication of officers across various commands, lauding their efforts in both drug supply reduction and demand reduction campaigns.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
