BY JACOB BRIGHT
No less than 101 parcels of Cocaine concealed in eight children duvets have been intercepted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
The NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said in a statement on Sunday that the illicit drug was brought into the country by a 52-year-old Brazilian returnee, Akudirinwa Hilary Uchenna who hails from Oru East Local Government area of Imo State.
He was arrested on Saturday, April 9 at the D-Arrival Hall of the Lagos airport upon his return from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Doha aboard Qatar Airline flight, while the 101 parcels of the class A drug with a gross weight of 13.2 kilogram were recovered from his only check-in bag.
Babafemi said that during preliminary interview, Uchenna who claimed to be a carpenter confessed that he was to be paid N5million for trafficking the drug after successfully delivering the consignment in Lagos.
In a related development, the NDLEA spokesman also revealed that big pellets of skunk concealed in detergent containers have been intercepted at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
According to him, a 37-year-old South African returnee, Ezekwesili Afamefune brought in the consignment weighing 730 grams aboard Ethiopian Airline flight from Johannesburg, South Africa via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ezekwesili is from Awka south local government area of Anambra State.
In Edo state, Babafemi said a 24-year-old drug dealer, Christian John, was arrested by NDLEA operatives in Egbeta, Ovia North East LGA for selling assorted illicit drugs which include sachets of drugged Milo beverage, cannabis sativa, swinol and tramadol tablets, while in Zamfara State, one Chibuzor Uba, 30, was arrested on Friday, April 8 with 1,955 ampules of pentazocine at Kaura Namoda area of Zamfara State.
He also said that a cross-border drug trafficker, Stanley Chibuzor, 21, was on Friday, April 8 arrested by officers of the Marine Unit of NDLEA stationed at Oron beach, Oron, Akwa Ibom State.
He said the suspect who hails from Ihiala, Anambra State was nabbed with 11,190 tablets of Tramadol during the outward clearance of passengers traveling to Cameroon.
In Ondo state, a drug dealer who produces and sells skuchies, Oluwaseun Agboola, 25, was arrested on Thursday, April 7, at his Igoba, Second Gate, Akure residence where 73 bottles of skuchies weighing 77kg stocked in his kitchen were recovered.
Skuchies are usually a mixture of Tramadol, Cannabis sativa, Codeine, Black Currant (popularly called Zobo) and water.
In Lagos, an early morning raid in the notorious Akala, Mushin area of the state on Saturday, April 9 led to the seizure of 746.25 kilograms of cannabis.
