Iran-bound businessman nabbed at Port Harcourt airport for ingesting 53 cocaine wraps
The National Drug Law Enforcement Company (NDLEA) has arrested a 44-year-weak businessman, Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian, on the Port Harcourt Global Airport for attempting to smuggle fifty three wraps of cocaine to Iran by ingesting them.
The suspect was as soon as apprehended on 7 June while trying to board Qatar Airways flight QR1434 en path to Tehran Khomeini Airport, Iran, by technique of Doha. The arrest was as soon as disclosed in a observation launched on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy on the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja.
In accordance to the company, Ezemokwe was as soon as subjected to a physique scan, which examined sure for drug ingestion. He was as soon as then placed under observation, eventually of which he excreted fifty three wraps of cocaine in six batches, weighing a total of 1.172 kilograms.
The NDLEA talked about the suspect confessed to participating in the illicit trade two years previously and claimed he had been travelling between countries in the West African sub-arrangement and Iran as half of his drug trafficking actions.
Ezemokwe’s arrest comes lower than two weeks after one other businessman, 60-year-weak Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, was as soon as arrested at Mallam Aminu Kano Global Airport, Kano, with 65 pellets of cocaine in his belly while attempting to commute to Iran.
In a associated operation, NDLEA operatives on the Murtala Muhammed Global Airport (MMIA), Lagos, in collaboration with Aviation Security personnel of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), intercepted an Italy-plug passenger, Edobor Ambrose Ali, in the early hours of 14 June.
The suspect was as soon as on an Air France flight to Milan when officers found drug consignments hidden in his bags eventually of tarmac scanning. He was as soon as offloaded and subjected to a search, which ended in the restoration of 14,410 tramadol tablets of 225mg and 200mg energy concealed in winter jackets.
Edobor, who claimed to be a resident of Italy, told investigators he was as soon as recruited and backed on an all-costs-paid day commute to Nigeria to switch the medication for a price of €2,000.
In Rivers Impart, NDLEA operatives at Onne Port on 13 June intercepted a container loaded with 157,800 bottles of codeine-primarily based entirely entirely syrup with an estimated avenue price of over ₦1.1 billion. The cargo, concealed leisurely 257 cartons of ceramic sanitary wares, was as soon as found eventually of a joint examination spirited officers of the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
In a separate operation in Obereakai, Odukpani Native Govt Condo of Contaminated River Impart, three suspects — Friday Achibong Joseph, 47; Abraham Anthony Willy, 21; and Utibe David Okon, 24 — were arrested on 12 June after operatives raided a warehouse the place 2,687kg of cannabis sativa (skunk) was as soon as seized.
Additionally on 12 June, NDLEA officers in Bauchi Impart intercepted a Toyota Camry car along Bauchi–Jos street carrying 195 blocks of cannabis weighing 287kg. Two suspects, Iriemi Imonikhe, 49, and Sa’idu Ladan, 30, were arrested.
The same day in Lagos, the company’s Marine Picture recovered 14 jumbo sacks of skunk weighing 560kg from a wooden boat off Oniru Seaside.
At Muhammadu Buhari Global Airport, Maiduguri, two suspects — Ishaku Abdullahi, 30, and Buba Usman, 32 — were arrested with varied portions of ecstasy tablets and skunk. The substances were packaged in clothier wraps labelled “Lychee” and “Porro Excellent”.
Reacting to the sequence of arrests and seizures, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), counseled officers and men of the more than a few commands — including these at MMIA, PHIA, MBIAM, Onne Port, Marine Picture, Contaminated River, and Bauchi — for their commitment and success over the past week.
Marwa furthermore praised NDLEA personnel nationwide for asserting balance between drug provide reduction and drug seek data from reduction efforts.
