Nosa Osula-Aituamen
A 59-year-old businessman and suspected drug trafficker, Chijioke Nnanna Igbokwe, has undergone a life-saving surgery after ingesting 81 pellets of cocaine, weighing 1.943 kilograms, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The illicit drugs had been stuck in his stomach for seven days, causing severe complications and putting his life at risk.
Igbokwe, who claimed to be a cloth businessman from Lagos, was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at Murtala Muhammed International Airport on January 26th after arriving from Addis Ababa.
According to a statement by the spokesman NDLEA Mr Femi Babafemi says, a body scan revealed the presence of illicit drugs in his system, leading to his detention for excretion observation.
Investigation revealed that Igbokwe had ingested the cocaine on January 23rd in Addis Ababa, intending to deliver it to Beirut, Lebanon for a fee of $3,000.
However, he was refused entry into Lebanon due to having less than the required $2,000, and was subsequently deported back to Addis Ababa.
Mr. Babafemi said, he then attempted to excrete the drugs but was unsuccessful, and eventually flew back to Lagos on January 25th.
After five days of excretion observation, Igbokwe was only able to expel 24 pellets of the cocaine.
Mr. Babafemi explained that, with his condition deteriorating and other underlying medical conditions complicating his situation, he was eventually admitted to a tertiary facility where he underwent an exploratory laparotomy to remove the remaining 57 pellets of cocaine stuck in his stomach.
The surgery was performed after his wife and brother endorsed the necessary consent forms on January 30th and the recovered cocaine taken into custody, marking a significant victory for the NDLEA in its fight against drug trafficking.
In related news, NDLEA operatives in Lagos intercepted a consignment of $2,000 kilograms of Ghanaian Loud, a strain of cannabis produced in Ghana, at Lekki beach on January 29th.
Giving further breakdown, The NDLEA spokesman stated that, two suspects, Sunday Awoyede and Christopher Cletus, were arrested along with the shipment, while another suspect, Lawal Idris Olasunkanmi, was arrested with 55 kilograms of skunk during a raid at his base in Mushin area of Lagos.