By kawaekwune Jeffrey
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has disclosed that it arrested a Thailand returnee, Oguejiofor Nnaemeka Simon Peter, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos State.
The agency said Oguejiofor was arrested for allegedly importing 13.30kg of heroin worth over N3.192 billion.
This was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Director of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi.
Babafemi, in the statement, revealed that the arrest occurred on Monday, October 7, 2024, following Oguejiofor’s alleged attempt to smuggle the illicit drug concealed in six backpacks packed into two large suitcases.
The statement reads in part: “It would be recalled that Oguejiofor was apprehended by NDLEA officers after attempting to reroute his luggage from Accra, Ghana, to Nigeria, in a bid to bypass security checks.
“Upon searching the suspect’s luggage, our operatives found three empty backpacks in each suitcase, each concealing parcels of heroin neatly sewn inside. The total weight of the drugs was 13.30kg.”
According to Babafemi, Oguejiofor is a 29-year-old graduate of Mechanical Engineering from Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Anambra State.
Oguejiofor was said to have admitted in his statement that he was hired for $7,000 to deliver two parcels in Lagos and four parcels in Accra, Ghana. He had arrived in Lagos after spending two days in Doha, Qatar, while his luggage was routed to Accra.
In a related development, the NDLEA revealed that between Monday, October 7, and Friday, October 11, 2024, it intercepted over 32 million pills of tramadol, worth N12.5 billion, along with 1.45 million bottles of codeine-based syrup valued at N10.1 billion, at the Lekki Deep Seaport, Apapa Seaport, and Port Harcourt Port Complex. The agency added that the combined street value of these opioids stood at N22.7 billion.
According to the Agency, on Saturday, October 12, 2024, NDLEA operatives also arrested a suspect, Okelue Chidera, in Anambra with 50,000 tablets of tramadol. Furthermore, raids conducted in Edo State resulted in the seizure of 1,050kg of cannabis in Owan West Local Government Area and the arrest of another suspect, Monday Akele, with 110kg of the same substance in Ovia North East LGA.
Babafemi emphasized that these operations are part of NDLEA’s ongoing efforts to curb drug trafficking across the country.
