A Madrid, Spain-bound drug trafficker, Okonkwo Chimezie Henry, arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos on Easter day, has excreted a total of 113 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.750 kilograms with a street value of N423 million.
It was gathered that Okonkwo was about boarding a Turkish Airline flight number TK0626 at about 8 p.m. when he was apprehended at screening two-point and taken into custody by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Lagos airport.
According to the Commander, MMIA Command of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Garba, the suspect was subsequently put under observation at the JBTF/NDLEA facility for further investigation.
Garba said 24 hours after putting the suspect under excretion observation, the suspect who has been living in Spain for 10 years excreted 39 wraps of cocaine and subsequently passed out a total of 113 wraps in five excretions.
He stated that further investigation reveals the suspect ingested the illicit drug in a hotel in Igando area of Lagos.
“The suspect excreted 39 wraps weighing 600 grams at 9.58 am on April 5; 13 wraps weighing 200 grams at 6.30 pm same day; 16 wraps weighing 250 grams at 10.30 pm same day; and 32 wraps weighing 500 grams at 7.30 am on April 6,” he stated.
In the same vein, operatives at the airport have also intercepted a 2.8kg of skunk meant for Dubai in UAE, through Emirate Airline.
The illicit drug was concealed in crayfish; bitter leaves and melons packaged in a sack but was recovered at the SAHCO export shed of MMIA.
Reacting to the seizures, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended officers and men of MMIA Command of the Agency for not allowing criminal elements to take advantage of the Easter holiday to further their illicit trade and dent Nigeria’s image abroad.
“We all must stay committed to the ongoing offensive action at the airports, seaports, land borders, on the streets of Nigerian cities and across the various drug joints and even in the forests where some are hiding to cultivate and process cannabis Sativa. We must disrupt their illicit trade and dismantle their cartels,” Marwa charged.
Daily Trust
