NDLEA busts Vietnam-bound trader with 88 packs of cocaine at Abuja airport
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Vietnam-bound businessman, Paul Mbadugha, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, after he tested positive for the ingestion of cocaine.
This information was provided in a statement by Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media and Advocacy at the NDLEA, on Sunday in Abuja.
Mr. Babafemi stated that the 54-year-old suspect was intercepted at the boarding gate of the Abuja airport on August 12 during the outward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR 1432 to Hanoi, Vietnam, via Doha.
“After four days under excretion observation, Mbadugha excreted a total of 88 wraps of the illicit drug, with a gross weight of 1.710 kg.”
“In his statement, he claimed he is a Lagos-based businessman and was given the cocaine pellets to swallow by a friend in the Isolo area of the state for onward delivery to Vietnam for a fee of $2,000,” he said.
In a related incident, NDLEA officers at the export shed of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted a shipment of Loud.
Mr. Babafemi described the drugs as a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 800 grams, which was concealed in noodles and destined for Congo.
“A follow-up operation at the Alaba International Market in the Ojo area of Lagos led to the arrest of the sender of the consignment, Nnamani Sunday Sunny, who deals in GSM handsets,” he said.
Meanwhile, a large consignment of Loud imported from Canada was recovered by NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport.
Mr. Babafemi said that a suspect, Desalu Temitope, who arrived on board an Air France flight with six boxes, was arrested by anti-narcotic officers during a joint examination by security agencies at the arrival hall.
“A total of 65.80 kg of the psychoactive substance was recovered from four of the six suitcases.
“In his statement, Desalu said he and an accomplice, who is currently at large, were promised $10,000 upon successful delivery of the shipment in Lagos,” he said.
Proofreading by Uchechi Ojo, Sub-editor at Neptune Prime.
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