A 67-year-old man has been apprehended at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for ingesting 100 wraps of cocaine. The elderly trafficker, Chukwuemeka Clement, claimed he resorted to this criminal act to accumulate enough money for a new marriage and a fresh start after spending three decades abroad.
According to NDLEA, Chukwuemeka was arrested during the screening of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight 951 from Addis Ababa. A body scan revealed multiple drug pellets in his stomach, leading to his detention.
Chukwuemeka explained that he had spent 30 years living in Brazil, Ethiopia, and Thailand, during which he lost his wife and had no children. Faced with the desire for a new beginning, he turned to drug trafficking as a means to raise sufficient funds for marriage and a fresh start.
In a related incident, NDLEA operatives at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano intercepted a 45-year-old woman, Bilkisu Mohammed Bello, preparing to board a Saudia Airlines flight to Saudi Arabia. During an interview, she admitted to swallowing cocaine pellets before her flight. A subsequent search at her residence in Farawa, Kano, resulted in the recovery of 52 wraps of cocaine with a total weight of 767 grams.
Meanwhile, in a proactive operation, NDLEA agents, supported by personnel from the Nigerian Army, Civil Defence Corps, and Amotekun, destroyed over 10.38 tonnes of cannabis sativa, covering more than 4.152 hectares in Jamestown, Ogunmakin, Obafemi Owode local government area of Ogun State.
During their return from the operation, the team intercepted a truck carrying a 40ft container loaded with wood logs. A search of the container led to the discovery of two bags containing 20 kilograms of cannabis sativa, and six suspects were arrested.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives uncovered 30 sacks of skunk weighing 300 kilograms concealed within charcoal at Obi camp in Owan West LGA. Additionally, two cannabis farms measuring 1.179065 hectares at Igbanke forest in Orhiowon local government area of the state were identified and destroyed. Four suspects were arrested in connection with these discoveries.
In Gombe State, a suspect named Auwal Bindow was arrested along Bauchi – Gombe road with 50,000 capsules of tramadol. In Oyo State, NDLEA agents on patrol along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway apprehended Anuoluwapo Blessing Iyanu with 52 blocks of compressed pawpaw-shaped cannabis sativa weighing 30 kilograms.
The NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign, organizing sensitization lectures for students and teachers in various schools across the country. The agency’s Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the officers and men for their outstanding efforts in the past week, emphasizing the importance of balancing drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction activities.
The NDLEA remains committed to combating drug-related crimes and protecting the well-being of Nigerian citizens.
Source: [Vanguard]
