OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested an ex-convict, Onyeka Charles Madukolu, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, for importing 5.90 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in cans of deodorants and ladies’ lip gloss into Nigeria.
Onyeka, who was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in Ethiopia for drug trafficking offences and released from prison in 2020, was again arrested on Friday September 16, 2022 at the Lagos airport on his return from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
This was disclosed today by the spokesperson of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, in a statement.
The statement read, “A search of his luggage revealed he had concealed 5.90kg cocaine inside cans of deodorants and female lip gloss.
“During preliminary interview, he claimed to have gone into the drug business to raise fresh capital to start a legitimate business after his release from Ethiopian prison in 2020.
“The father of two kids, one each from a Nigerian woman and a Brazilian lady, said he was into motor spare parts business before going into the illicit trade.
“The 44-year-old indigene of Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State said he was expecting to be paid N2 million on the successful delivery of the illicit drug in Nigeria.”
READ ALSO:
In the same vein, the NDLEA said that on Tuesday, September 13, its operatives intercepted another trafficker, Chukwu Kingsley, on his way to Rome, Italy, on an Asky Airline flight.
“A search of his luggage shows he had concealed among food condiments 11,460 tablets of tramadol 225mg with a gross weight of 5.7kg and 39 bottles of codeine syrup.
“The 49-year-old suspect is a known haulage agent who hails from Oru West Local Government Area of Imo State,” Babafemi said.
Also, at the Lagos airport, a freight agent, Lawal Adeyemi, was arrested the same day for attempting to export some sachets of lexotan, among other non-controlled drugs, to Liberia, while operatives equally seized 593.90 kilogrammes of khat leaf at the NAHCO import shed of the airport on Thursday September 15 after a joint examination of the cargo by a combined team of security agencies.
Meanwhile, a notable producer of a new psychoactive substance popularly called Akuskura, Qasim Ademola, has been arrested by anti-narcotic officers who intercepted 26,600 bottles of the illicit substance meant for distribution across the northern states.
“The consignment was seized on Thursday 15th Sept. along Zaria-Kano road, Gadar Tamburawa, Kano, while the 39-year-old proprietor from Akinyele LGA, Oyo State and three of his distributors were arrested in follow-up operations,” the statement added.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance