Published By Olukayode Idowu
No less than 101 parcels of cocaine concealed in eight children duvets have been intercepted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
According to a statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, the illicit drug was brought into the country by a 52-year-old Brazilian returnee, Akudirinwa Uchenna.
He said Uchenna was arrested on Saturday at the D-Arrival Hall of the Lagos airport upon his return from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Doha aboard Qatar Airline flight, noting that the the 101 parcels of the class A drug with a gross weight of 13.2 kilogrammes were recovered from his only check-in bag.
During preliminary interrogation, Uchenna who claimed to be a carpenter confessed that he was to be paid N5 million for trafficking the drug after successfully delivering the consignment in Lagos.
In a related development, Babafemi said a big pellets of skunk concealed in detergent containers have been intercepted at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, disclosing that a 37-year-old South African returnee, Ezekwesili Afamefune brought in the consignment weighing 730 grammes aboard Ethiopian Airline flight from Johannesburg, South Africa via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He also said in Edo state, a 24-year-old drug dealer Christian John was arrested by NDLEA operatives in Egbeta, Ovia North East local government area for selling assorted illicit drugs which include sachets of drugged Milo beverage, cannabis sativa, swinol and tramadol tablets, while in Zamfara state, one Chibuzor Uba, 30, was arrested last Friday with 1,955 ampules of pentazocine at Kaura Namoda area of the state.
Babafemi also disclosed that a cross-border drug trafficker, Stanley Chibuzor, 21, was last Friday arrested by officers of the Marine Unit of NDLEA stationed at Oron beach, Oron, Akwa Ibom state.
He said the suspect was nabbed with 11,190 tablets of Tramadol during the outward clearance of passengers traveling to Cameroon.
In Ondo state, a drug dealer who produces and sells skuchies, Oluwaseun Agboola, 25, he said was arrested on last Thursday at his Igoba, Second Gate, Akure residence where 73 bottles of skuchies weighing 77k kilogrammes stocked in his kitchen were recovered.
Babafemi explained that skuchies are usually a mixture of Tramadol, cannabis sativa, Codeine, black currant (popularly called Zobo) and water.
He also said in Lagos, an early morning raid in the notorious Akala, Mushin area of the state on Saturday led to the seizure of 746.25 kilogrammes of cannabis.
Meanwhile, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) while commending officers and men of the MMIA, AIIA, Edo, Zamfara, Akwa Ibom, Lagos and Ondo state Commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures, charged them and their colleagues across the country to remain focussed and abstain from acts capable of compromising or jeopardising the collective goal of ridding Nigeria of drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
