NDLEA arrest two Nigerians, Ghanaian at Enugu, Abuja Airports with cocaine, Meth

Two Nigerians and a Ghanaian have been arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, and Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, respectively for trafficking a total of 9.953 kilogrammes of Cocaine and Methamphetamine.

One of the suspects, Uzoh Ndubuisi Johnson, was arrested on Wednesday around 5:30 pm during an inward screening of Ethiopian Airlines’ passengers at the airport.

Johnson, who arrived from Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was arrested with clothes filled with Cocaine, which had a gross weight of 6.7 kilogrammes.

While being interviewed by narcotic officers, Johnson said he was given the consignment by his enabler based in Brazil and was to be paid N3 million upon successful delivery to someone in Nigeria.

Another trafficker, 53-year-old Udeh Charley was arrested at the Enugu airport for ingesting 72 wraps of Cocaine weighing 1.253 kilogrammes.

He was arrested on Friday during outward screening of Ethiopian Airlines’ passengers to Rome, Italy, via Addis Ababa.

In custody, he claimed he would have been paid 4,000 Euros on the successful delivery of the drugs in Italy where he has been living for over 20 years.

He attributed his decision to engage in the illegal trade to the downward turn of his business as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a related development, another trafficker, 25-year-old John Kadja, whose father is from Kumasi, Ashanti region of Ghana and mother from Nsukka, Enugu State, was arrested on Friday with two kilogrammes of Methamphetamine during an outward clearance of Qatar Airways from Abuja to Doha at the departure screening area of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

A search of his bag showed that the drug was concealed in a false bottom affixed to his luggage.

He said he was travelling to Doha to work as a labourer.

In Ondo State, a 43-year-old man named Onuoha Friday was arrested on Friday along Lagos-Benin Expressway with one million capsules of Tramadol while in two major arrests in Anambra State, a total of 238.973 kilogrammes of assorted illicit drugs were recovered.

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intercepted a truck at the Onitsha head bridge heading to Delta State on Friday and upon searching the vehicle, various quantities of Codeine, Tramadol, Diazepam and Rohypnol were recovered from it.

The driver of the truck, Obinna Obinwa, was arrested by the operates to aid investigation into the seized items.

In Delta State, raids and follow-up operations carried out in parts of the state on Friday led to the arrests of a 17-year-old boy named Abdulkarim Shiabu and 23-year-old Lawal Saidu, both from Niger Republic and four others with different quantities of Cocaine, Heroine, Methamphetamine, Tramadol and Cannabis.

Others arrested are Precious Oghenegwoke; Loveth Omukoro; Uche Godwin and Uti Harrison.

In Kogi, Adam Salaudeen was arrested at the Ogori Magongo area of the state with 214.7kg of Cannabis sativa.

Commending officers and men of Enugu, Abuja airports’ commands and their counterparts in Ondo, Anambra and Kogi states for the arrests and seizures in the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), charged them and their compatriots across the country to remain vigilant and resolute in the collective mission to rid every part of Nigeria of illicit drugs.