A 32-year-old man, Maduabuchi Chinedu, was at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, apprehended by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency operatives with 9.30 kilogrammes of cocaine estimated at over N2.7 billion.
Maduabuchi hails from Obaha Okigwe village in the Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State but lives in Liberia, where he works as a miner.
Femi Babafemi, the spokesperson for the NDLEA, explained that the suspect was apprehended during an inward search of an Ethiopian Airline flight 911 at the Abuja airport on Wednesday.
According to the spokesman, the 9.30kg cocaine was in candy wraps and concealed in his luggage.
He added that during his preliminary interview, Chinedu claimed he left Nigeria in 2018 to settle in Liberia, where he now has a residence permit.
He further explained that economic pressure and the need to raise money to treat his mother for an eye problem led him to seek help from a friend in Liberia, adding that he was introduced to another friend based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, who eventually gave him the drug to deliver in Abuja for a fee of N1m.
He added, “He (victim) was initially scheduled to deliver the drug in Ivory Coast, but was rerouted to Nigeria at the last minute.”
The Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Marwa (retd.), hailed the efforts of the officers and men of the agency for working in synergy with other security agencies at the airport.
