The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Chadian lady, Vivien Tarmadji, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, while trying to board an Ethiopian airline flight 911 en route Addis Ababa-Italy with 234.35 grams of heroin concealed in her private part.
The spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said on Friday in Abuja that the trafficker, who runs a saloon business in Italy since 2016 upon her relocation to the country via Libya, was nabbed by vigilant narcotics agents during an outward clearance of the airline at the boarding gate after being scanned.
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According to him, under interrogation, the suspect claimed she was contacted by a man who called her from Italy to collect the drug from one man who delivered the illicit substance to her in a hotel she lodged in Lagos early in the morning.
She said that this was before she took her flight to Abuja the same day for an onward journey to Italy.
“She further claimed that the man brought 50 wraps of heroin for her to swallow but she couldn’t, and as such, she decided to insert 18 wraps into her private part and returned the remaining to the man that brought the drug to her in the hotel,” Babafemi said.
He added that the suspect also said that she came into Nigeria to raise money to pay for her house and shop rents which had expired in Italy, as life has been so difficult since the coming in of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said the owner of the drug was to pay her 10,000 Euro for the successful delivery of the drug to Italy.
Meanwhile, another trafficker, Okojie James, from Oredo local government area of Edo State, was arrested while boarding a Turkish airline flight en route Abuja-Istanbul-Cyprus.
The NDLEA spokesman said that a number of illicit drugs including 1. 549kg of Cannabis Sativa; 223.80grams of Tramadol; 192.34grams of Rohypnol; 214.05 grams of Flunitrazepam, all of which were concealed in tins of Bournvita and milk, packed in a bag of foodstuff were recovered from him.
During interrogation, he claimed his friend, Mr Elvis who resides in Cyprus asked him to collect the luggage for him.
According to him, Elvis’ sister sent the luggage to him in Abuja from Benin through a transport company, Big Joe Motors.
He said he was into shawarma and ‘indomie’ business in Benin before Elvis invited him to Cyprus claiming that he got him admission to school there.
The Commander, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja Command of the NDLEA, Kabir Sani Tsakuwa, said that both suspects would soon face prosecution.
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