A 47-year-old suspected drug trafficker, Chigbogu Ernest Obiora, has excreted 97 wraps of substance that tested positive to cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos State.
The Director, Media and Advocacy of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) , Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
According to him, Obiora was arrested during inward clearance of Ethiopian Airline, after which he was put under observation and he excreted the substance weighed 1.55 kg and has a street value of N360 million.
“He was arrested at about 1:16pm on Sunday 25th April, 2021 during the inward clearance of Ethiopian Airline. He had arrived Lagos on board the airline from Entebbe, Uganda via Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia.
“According to the Commander, MMIA Command of the anti-drug law enforcement agency, Ahmadu Garba, Obiora was intercepted in the E-arrival hall of the airport by the operatives of NDLEA on the suspicion that he ingested drug substance.
“The suspect was taken for body machine scan and the result was positive for ingestion of substance suspected to be illicit drug. The suspect was promptly moved to the NDLEA excretion/ observation facility.
“Barely an hour after he was arrested, Obiora excreted 31 wraps of cocaine weighing 500grammes and another 47 wraps (750 grammes) in the evening of same day while 19 wraps (300 grammes) were excreted the following day, Monday 26th April, bringing the total to 97 wraps, that is, 1.55kg.”
Babafemi said under interrogation, Obiora, who claimed he did not know the real owner of the drug, was promised $1,500 if he successfully trafficked it.
“I did it so that I will be capable of feeding my family. I was living in Madagascar but due to the COVID-19 and the lockdown in the country, I couldnt go back to my place of work.
“There was a time I started lacking money to feed my family and to pay my childrens school fees and the worst part of it is to pay my rent. So, I decided to take the option to do it.” the suspect claimed.
When asked about the real owner of the drug, Obiora said: “I don’t know him. They contacted me on the phone and asked if I could do the business.”
This comes a few weeks after the NDLEA arrested a suspected drug trafficker, Okonkwo Chimezie Henry, who swallowed 1.750kg cocaine worth N423 million.