The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested Qatar-based drug kingpins, Eyah Celestine Nnamdi and Ugwuoke Peter Oluchukwu, following the interception of their methamphetamine consignment at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos State.

The NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, made the disclosure via a statement issued on Sunday, June 18.

Babafemi stated that Ugwuoke was the first to be arrested on June 9 during the outward clearance of Qatar Airways passengers at the departure point, Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport.

He noted that the NDLEA officers discovered that the suspect was travelling to Doha with an Ivorian international passport with the name Hien Narcisse.

The NDLEA spokesperson revealed that further scrutiny of the suspect’s black carry-on luggage led to the discovery of a false bottom concealment of two parcels of crystalline substance that tested positive for methamphetamine weighing 1.00kg.

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Babafemi stated that preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect is a Nigerian who had gone to obtain an Ivorian passport for his travels, adding that Ugwuoke confessed that he travelled to Qatar in August 2022 and returned from the Arab nation about two months ago to perfect arrangement for the movement of the drug consignment.

He added: “A further probe led operatives to discover that his Qatar-based senior partner in the trade simply identified as Murphy was lurking around in Eziani, his hometown in Nsukka LGA, Enugu State. Ugwuoke who hails from Igboeze North Local Government Area of the State claims he holds a National Diploma in Electrical Engineering from the Federal Polytechnic Oko.

“A prompt deployment of NDLEA operatives on 10th June to Eziani community of Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, led to the arrest of Murphy whose true identity was later discovered to be Eyah Celestine Nnamdi, who had lived in Indonesia for some years before relocating to Doha, Qatar.”

In his reaction, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the officers of the anti-drug agency for their vigilance and professionalism in the discharge of their responsibilities.

Marwa charged them and their colleagues across the country not to rest on their oars.

The Star