By Ken Afor
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended a Nigerian businessman, Mr. Emmanuel Orjinze, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) in Abuja, bound for Paris, after he excreted 111 wraps of cocaine.
This was disclosed in a statement by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi, on Sunday.
According to Babafemi, Orjinze, 48, excreted the wraps after being under observation for several days in NDLEA’s custody.
He revealed that the suspect, who claimed to be a former professional footballer in Europe, was initially arrested on Tuesday during the outbound screening process for Air France flight AF 878 from Abuja to Paris, France.
However, the suspect’s attempt to smuggle the illicit substance was foiled by the vigilant efforts of the NDLEA officials at the airport.
“After a body scan confirmed he ingested illicit drugs, he was taken into custody where he excreted a total of 111 pellets of cocaine.
“These pellets of cocaine weighed 1.603 kilograms and were excreted over a period of three days.
“The suspect claimed he does business in the maritime sector while still scouting for any European football club to engage him,“ he said.
In another operation, the officials of the anti-narcotics agency intercepted cocaine concealed in buckets of shea butter heading for the United Kingdom (UK).
The seizure occurred at the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos on Wednesday, May 22, 2024.
The seizure led to the arrest of a freight agent, Mariam Sonubi.
According to the agency’s spokesman, the suspect was arrested while attempting to ship 8 parcels of cocaine weighing 2kg.
He wrote on his X handle on Sunday: “Narco-trend update: There’s a fresh wave of onslaught against the drug underworld by the unrelenting #ndlea_nigeria as these videos show the moment officers uncovered cocaine in buckets of shea butter going to the UK, and a skuchies factory in Lagos.”
