The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has foiled multiple international drug trafficking attempts at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
In a dramatic bust, two Brazil returnees, Ofoma Sunday, 46, and Ukachukwu Frank Ikechukwu were caught after swallowing hard drugs. Ofoma ingested 111 wraps of heroin, weighing over 1.4 kilograms, before NDLEA operatives tracked him to a hotel in Amuwo Odofin, where his handler, Nweke Jude, was also arrested.
Similarly, Ukachukwu Ikechukwu, who arrived from Brazil via Addis Ababa, expelled five large wraps of cocaine under NDLEA observation.
He admitted he bought nine wraps in Brazil but lost some in a desperate attempt to reinsert them during his transit.
Meanwhile, the agency also arrested a businesswoman, Okolonkwo Ebere Theresa, who attempted to smuggle 1.4 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in her underwear while boarding a Qatar Airways flight.
And at the cargo sheds, NDLEA intercepted food items and courier packages concealing more drugs, 40 wraps of meth bound for Hong Kong, and cocaine disguised inside phone chargers headed for New Zealand.
NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi says the arrests highlight the agency’s unrelenting war against drug cartels exploiting Nigeria’s airports as transit points.
Reporting By Nosa Aituamen