A suspected drug trafficker, Ndubuisi Uzoh, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Uzoh, who arrived from Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was arrested with 6.7 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden in clothes during an inward screening of Ethiopian airline passengers at the arrival hall of the airport on Wednesday, December 8, 2021, around 5.30pm.
A spokesperson for the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, said the suspect claimed he would have been paid N3m if he had delivered the drug successfully.
Babafemi said another 53-year-old trafficker, Charley Udeh, was arrested for ingesting 72 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.253kg at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, on Friday, December 3, 2021, during outward screening of Ethiopian airline passengers going to Rome, Italy via Addis Ababa.
He said, “In custody, he claimed he would have been paid 4,000 Euros on the successful delivery of the drugs in Italy where he had been living for over 20 years. He attributed his decision to engage in the ignominious trade on the downward turn of his business as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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The NDLEA spokesperson explained that another 25-year-old Ghanaian, John Kadja, whose father was from Kumasi, Ashanti, and mother from Nsukka, Enugu State, was arrested on Friday, December 3, 2021, with 2kg of methamphetamine during an outward clearance of Qatar Airways from Abuja to Doha at the departure screening area of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
He noted that the drug was concealed in a false bottom of his checked-in luggage.
Babafemi added, “In Ondo State, 43-year-old Onuoha Friday was arrested on Friday, December 10, 2021, along Lagos-Benin Expressway with one million capsules of tramadol, while in two major arrests in Anambra State, a total of 238kg of assorted illicit drugs were recovered.
On Friday, December 3, NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck at the Onitsha head bridge heading for Delta State. Upon a search, various quantities of codeine, tramadol, diazepam, and rohypnol were recovered from the vehicle and its driver, Obinna Obinwa, was arrested. Similarly, on Wednesday, December 8, the agency’s patrol team on Onitsha head bridge intercepted another truck going to Delta with different quantities of assorted illicit drugs while the driver, Lucky James, was also arrested.
“In Delta, raids and follow-up operations carried out in parts of the state on Friday, December 10 led to the arrest of 17-year-old Abdulkarim Shiabu and 23-year-old Lawal Saidu, both from Niger Republic, and four others with different quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, tramadol and cannabis. Others arrested include Precious Oghenegwoke, Loveth Omukoro, Uche Godwin and Uti Harrison. In Kogi, Adam Salaudeen was arrested at Ogori Magongo area of the state with 214.7kg of cannabis sativa.”
The Chairman, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), charged the men and officers of the agency to remain vigilant and resolute in the mission to rid every part of the country of illicit drugs.
