A Brazilian returnee, Igwedum Uche Benson, has been arrested by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos with pellets of cocaine concealed in his private part.

Benson was nabbed at the Lagos airport on Monday, June 20 upon his arrival on Ethiopian Airlines from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Addis Ababa.

This was disclosed via a statement issued and made available to The Star on Sunday by the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi.

Babafemi stated that preliminary investigations revealed that the Brazilian returnee swallowed 50 wraps of cocaine before departing Brazil and excreted 48 pellets in Addis Ababa where he handed them over to another person.

“He however claimed he was unable to excrete the remaining two wraps at the hotel room in Addis Ababa before boarding his flight but later excreted them in the aircraft restroom during the flight from Ethiopia to Lagos,” he added.

Babafemi further stated that the NDLEA operatives on Saturday, June 25 arrested a drug kingpin, Onyekachi Chukwuma Macdonald, who was behind attempts to export 40 parcels of Methamphetamine, popularly called Mkpuru Mmiri locally, to London, United Kingdom through the NAHCO export shed of the Lagos airport.

The NDLEA spokesperson disclosed that Onyekachi was arrested at Manacola Estate in the Alakuko area of Lagos, three weeks after his Mkpuru Mmiri consignment weighing 2.05kilograms was intercepted at the airport, while his freight agent, Peter Christopher Anikan, arrested on June 7.

According to Babafemi, during his interview, the suspect said he is from Ahiazu, Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State, and had lived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates for 10 years before returning to Nigeria in 2019.

“He stated that after his return to Nigeria he opened a phone accessories shop in Sango Otta, Ogun State but the business collapsed. He then started sending cigarettes to London and decided to conceal the illicit drug in the consignment after advice by a friend.

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“Closely related is the seizure of another consignment of 2kg Mkpuru Mmiri at a courier house in Owerri, Imo state. The cargo seized on Wednesday 22nd June had ankara and lace fabrics in which two cylindrical cellophanes containing the drug heading to Hong Kong were concealed,” the anti-narcotic spokesman stated.

He added that the NDLEA operatives, on Friday, June 24 intercepted 500,000 tablets of Tramadol 225mg packed in 10 cartons and labelled ‘Tramaking’ imported from Karachi, Pakistan on Emirates Airline.

Babafemi stated that the consignment weighing 407.60kg was seized during a joint examination with Customs and NAFDAC officials.

He said: “Same day, a Dubai, UAE-bound passenger, Alegbeleye Taiwo, was arrested at the departure hall of the MMIA with 40 ampoules of pentazocine injection. The 21-year-old suspect claims he’s from Osun State.”

Speaking, the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the anti-narcotic officers for the drug seizures and arrests.

He further enjoined them and their compatriots across the country to intensify their efforts toward achieving set goals.

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