Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in a fresh wave of interdiction operations targeting transnational drug cartels, have arrested a Thailand returnee, Oguejiofor Nnaemeka Simonpeter for importing 13.30kgs of heroin worth over N3.192bn, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos State.
This is just as their counterparts at three seaports intercepted large consignments of opioids with a combined monetary value of N22,740,958,000.
Spokesman for the agency, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday in a statement, said Oguejiofor was arrested on Monday October 7, 2024 while attempting to smuggle out of the airport the illicit drug concealed in six backpacks and packed into two big suitcases.
“The 29-year-old graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Anambra State, had left Thailand on 3rd October on Qatar Airways flight and stopped over in Doha where he spent two days before heading to Lagos while his luggage was routed to Accra, Ghana, his original destination.
“After arriving Lagos on the 5th October, he contacted the airline to reroute his luggage to Nigeria so that he can pick them up as rush bags in a bit to beat security checks,” Babafemi said.
However, NDLEA officers intercepted him at the point of exit, when a search of his two suitcases revealed three empty backpacks in each box with a large parcel of heroin neatly sewn to all the six backpacks. The six parcels were subsequently recovered with a gross weight of 13.30kgs.
In his statement, Oguejiofor claimed he was hired for a fee of $7,000 upon successful delivery of the parcels.
He said he was to deliver two parcels in Lagos and the other four parcels in Accra, Ghana.
Meanwhile, a total of 32,607,900 pills of tramadol worth over N12,577,000,000 and 1,451,994 bottles of codeine-based syrup with a street value of N10,163,958,000 have been intercepted at the Lekki Deep Seaport, Apapa seaport in Lagos State and Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers State.
The combined monetary value of the seized opioids comes to N22,740,958,000.
The illicit consignments were seized from containers watch listed by NDLEA based on intelligence and processed for 100 per cent joint examination with men of the Nigeria Customs and other security agencies at the three seaports between Monday, 7th and Friday, 11th October 2024.
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