NDLEA arrests pretend couple with 3.322 kg of cocaine

Fake couple attempting to smuggle 184 wraps of cocaine to India arrested

On August 1, 2023, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) successfully apprehended a couple posing as Mr. Ilonzeh Onyebuchi and Mrs. Ilonzeh Nonyelum at Screening Point 1, Terminal 1 of the international wing of Lagos Airport. The two suspects were supposedly traveling to India for medical treatment, but they were found to have ingested 184 wraps of cocaine, totaling 3.322 kilograms, with an additional 100 grams of the drug concealed in the woman’s private parts.

The duo had used travel documents that indicated they were a married couple to bypass airport security checks. However, an alert NDLEA officer decided to subject them to a body scan, which confirmed their involvement in drug trafficking. As a result, they were placed under excretion observation at an NDLEA facility.

Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the individuals were not actually a couple. The woman, later identified as Ngogbike Nkechi, confessed that she was recruited in her hometown of Aba, Abia State. She disclosed that her supposed travel companion, Kingsley, was not her husband but someone connected to her solely for the purpose of this illegal drug trip.

Ngogbike Nkechi admitted that Kingsley had provided her with the cocaine pellets, which she ingested in her hotel room on the previous day. After their arrest, a thorough search on her led to the discovery of an additional 100-gram wrap of cocaine concealed in her private part.

The suspects revealed that they were promised a sum of $5,000 upon successful delivery of the drugs in India. Thanks to the vigilance of NDLEA operatives, this illicit drug trafficking attempt was thwarted, and the perpetrators are now in custody, facing legal consequences for their actions.