Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Brazilian returnee and father of two, Okolie Paulinus Nwabueze, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja for importing 92 wraps of cocaine.
Nwabueze was said to have ingested and, eventually, excreted the cocaine wraps after days under observation in the agency’s facility.
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Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said on Sunday in Abuja that the 53-year-old trafficker, who hails from Mmaku village, Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State, was arrested on Friday, September 2, upon his arrival on Qatar Airline flight en route Brazil-Doha-Abuja.
“He claimed to have left Nigeria to Mozambique in 2004 and finally relocated to Brazil in 2017, where he obtained a residence permit before deciding to import the illicit substance for a $4,000 fee,” Babafemi said.
Similarly, a 42-year-old man, Aliyu Bello Kwasare, was arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, for attempting to export a consignment of a new psychoactive substance, Akuskura, to Saudi Arabia.
Kwasare, an indigene of Kware LGA, Sokoto State, was arrested on Monday, September 5, during the outward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airline flight to Riyadh.
Also, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja Lagos State, no fewer than 1,099,000 tablets of Tramadol 225mg have been seized through inter-agency collaboration between NDLEA and the Nigerian Customs.
The pharmaceutical opioids packed in 50 cartons weighing 2,058.90kg were imported from Pakistan via Addis-Ababa on Ethiopian Airways.
The consignment was concealed among other non-controlled pharmaceuticals.
A freight agent, Aliyu Abubakar, was arrested at the NAHCO export shed of the airport over an attempt to export a consignment of cannabis concealed inside bottles of Caro white body lotion.
Reacting to the development, the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the officers of the agency for their resilience.
He also charged them and their compatriots in other commands to remain focussed and vigilant in their areas of responsibility.
