An Onitsha-based businessman, Ibeanusi Solomon Nosike, has excreted 68 wraps of cocaine after being under observation for 12 days following his arrest by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the local wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos.
According to a statement from NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the 36-year-old was apprehended in the early hours of Thursday, August 8, 2024, at the old domestic terminal of the Lagos airport. He was attempting to board a flight to Abuja, where he was scheduled to connect to a Qatar Airways flight to Vietnam at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport later that morning.
Babafemi revealed that Ibeanusi had arrived in Lagos from his base in Onitsha, Anambra state, on August 7th and checked into a hotel where he swallowed the 68 wraps of cocaine.
The following morning, he headed to the airport for a 6:30 am flight but was intercepted by NDLEA operatives. He was placed under observation, during which he excreted the cocaine pellets, weighing a total of 1.282 kilograms.
In a related incident, another Vietnam-bound businessman, 54-year-old Paul Okwuy Mbadugha, was arrested at the Abuja airport on Monday, August 12, 2024, during the clearance process for a Qatar Airways flight to Hanoi, Vietnam, via Doha.
After testing positive for ingesting cocaine, Mbadugha was placed under observation and subsequently excreted 88 wraps of the drug, with a total weight of 1.710 kilograms.
Additionally, another Onitsha-based businessman, Aligbo Chukwudi Jacob, was arrested by NDLEA operatives after a consignment containing 1.20kg of cannabis, concealed in a package destined for Dubai, UAE, was intercepted at the export shed of the Lagos airport.
Investigations revealed that the package was sent through a courier company in Onitsha. Following a series of follow-up operations, Aligbo was apprehended in Onitsha on Saturday, August 17.
Source: lindaikejisblog