Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 47-year-old drug trafficker, Chigbogu Ernest Obiora, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos State.
After his arrest, Obiora was subsequently put under observation, during which he excreted 97 wraps of substances that tested positive to cocaine with a total weight of 1.55kilogramme and a street value of N360million.
The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a press statement released on Friday.
The suspect was arrested at about 1:16pm on Sunday 25th April, 2021 during the inward clearance of an Ethiopian Airline. He had arrived Lagos on board the airline from Entebbe, Uganda via Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Commander, MMIA Command of the anti-drug law enforcement agency, Ahmadu Garba, said “Obiora was intercepted in the E-arrival hall of the airport by the operatives of NDLEA on the suspicion that he ingested drug substance. The suspect was taken for body machine scan and the result was positive for ingestion of substance suspected to be illicit drug. The suspect was promptly moved to the NDLEA excretion/ observation facility.”
The statement further revealed that barely an hour after Obiora was arrested, he excreted 31 wraps of cocaine weighing 500grammes and another 47 wraps (750grammes) in the evening of same day while 19 warps (300grammes) were excreted the following day, Monday 26th April, bringing the total to 97 wraps, that is, 1.55kg.
The suspect, while being interrogated, confessed he was promised $1,500 if he successfully trafficked the drug. He added that he had opted for the ‘deal’ because he needed money.
“I did it so that I will be capable of feeding my family. I was living in Madagascar but due to the COVID-19 and the lockdown in the country, I couldn’t go back to my place of work. There was a time I started lacking money to feed my family and to pay my children’s school fees and the worst part of it is to pay my rent. So, I decided to take the option to do it,” he stated.
He also said he never thought he would be caught and that he has never met the real owner of the drug.
“I don’t know him, they contacted me on phone and asked if I can do the business”, he claimed.
