The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested an ex-footballer, Okafor Emmanuel Junior, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos State, on his arrival from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on board an Ethiopian airlines flight with 1.40kg crack cocaine concealed in his bags.
The 33-year-old indigene of Arochukwu Local Government area of Abia State was arrested on Monday after the anti-narcotic officers discovered he concealed the illicit substance in the handles of his bags and padded the top edges of same with the drug.
The NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this via a statement issued on Sunday.
Babafemi stated that during a preliminary interview, Okafor revealed that he was an ex-footballer with the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu FC, where he played for four seasons before leaving for Sri Lanka in 2014.
The NDLEA spokesperson added that the ex-footballer further stated that he moved to Brazil from Sri Lanka after playing for two seasons but could not advance his football career in Brazil due lack of official documents.
He noted that another Brazilian returnee, Ibeh Chinedu Damian, was arrested same day upon his arrival at the Lagos airport from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Ethiopian airlines flight.
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According to Babafemi, Damian, who hails from Ahiazu in Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State, was found to have concealed 3.20kg black cocaine, popularly known as Lucci, in false bottoms of his two bags.
“In his statement, he said he was to be paid N3.1 million on successful delivery of the drug in Nigeria,” the anti-drug agency spokesman stated.
Babafemi added that the NDLEA operatives also foiled an attempt by a 32-year-old businesswoman, Pamela Odin, to traffic 2.150kg tablets of Rohypnol through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to Istanbul, Turkey.
He stated that the mother of one was arrested on Friday while attempting to board a Turkish airline flight with the drug concealed inside pepper and packed among foodstuff.
He noted that the indigene of Afiesere village in Ughelli North Local Government area of Delta State said she operates a restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey but came to Nigeria to see her relatives and buy food items for her restaurant business.
Speaking on the arrests and seizures, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the anti-narcotic officers for their resilience just as he charged them and others across the country to intensify ongoing offensive action against drug cartels and traffickers wherever they may be located in any part of Nigeria.
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