Cocaine weighing 5.9kg worth N74 million has been abandoned by a suspected drug trafficking syndicate.
The drug was detected by men of the National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency, NDLEA, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA,
Lagos. The drug which was hidden inside industrial equipment originated
from Panama, Central America.
This came as a suspected drug trafficker excreted 54 wraps of cocaine he ingested in Brazil.
NDLEA Commander at the Lagos airport, Mr Hamza Umar, said that the
cocaine consignment was left unclaimed. “The luggage was imported from
Panama. When nobody came forward to claim ownership, we invited other
security agencies and carried out a search. It was in the process of the
search that the cocaine
was discovered inside the industrial equipment.
“Meantime, a 36-year-old man, Onyema Watson Goodman Nnamdi, was also
apprehended in connection with the ingestion of 54 wraps of cocaine
weighing 875 grammes. Both seizures weighed 6.775kg.”
The suspect said he wanted to get married with the $4,000 they promised to pay him.
According to Onyema, “I have struggled in my life but I have nothing
to show for it. I was in Cape Verde for six years before I went to
Brazil in March 2013. My decision to smuggle drugs was to use the
proceeds to marry and settle down.”
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Alhaji Ahmadu Giade,
promised to investigate the illegal shipment and expose those behind it.
He said: “Drug barons have no hiding place. This abandoned seizure is
an indication that control measures are working and the country is
winning the war on narcotics. This case shall be thoroughly investigated
and those that are responsible will be exposed and brought to justice.”
He urged members of the public to support the anti-narcotics campaign
in the interest of humanity. The suspect will soon be charged to court,
he said.
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