A 50-year-old businessman has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for allegedly ingesting 90 wraps of cocaine at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) in Enugu. The suspect was apprehended on Wednesday during the screening of passengers arriving from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
According to NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the businessman had been under surveillance for months. After his arrest, he was placed on excretion observation, during which he expelled 90 pellets of cocaine, weighing 2.019kg.
The investigation revealed that the suspect, who runs a phone and accessories business in Lagos and Gabon, had traveled by road from Gabon to Douala, Cameroon, before flying to Addis Ababa. It was during his transit in Addis Ababa that he swallowed the cocaine pellets, later continuing his journey to Enugu, with Lagos as his final destination. Despite his efforts to obscure his travel path, the suspect had been on the NDLEA’s watchlist for three months.
In his statement, the businessman admitted he resorted to drug trafficking to improve his struggling business.
In another operation, NDLEA’s Special Operations Unit arrested a 42-year-old man, believed to be the leader of a cocaine distribution cartel, along with five associates in Okota, Isolo, Lagos. A total of 2.412kg of cocaine was seized.
Additionally, NDLEA operatives dismantled a drug syndicate run by a 58-year-old Chinese national. The suspect was arrested at his hotel in Ikeja, Lagos. Earlier, a 40-year-old man was intercepted at the Gbaji checkpoint on the Badagry-Seme expressway, en route to Ghana, with 750g of cocaine in his possession. The investigation led to the Chinese national’s arrest, where 4.3g of cocaine, 1g of methamphetamine, and electronic weighing scales were found in his hotel room.
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