Following a successful intelligence-led operation, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested 47-year-old Uche Franklin Onyekwere at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Onyekwere, a businessman arriving from Brazil via South Africa, was flagged during inward clearance on January 29.
A subsequent body scan revealed parcels of cocaine hidden within the soles of his shoes and internally.
“He was subjected to a strip search, during which a large parcel of a white powdery substance, later confirmed to be cocaine, was discovered wrapped around his right thigh.
“A further search revealed two additional wraps of the same substance concealed in the sole of a pair of flat shoes worn by the suspect,” the NDLEA said.
In all, three large wraps of cocaine with a gross weight of 1.60 kg were recovered from his body and footwear.
During preliminary interrogation, the suspect allegedly admitted purchasing the drugs in Brazil with the intention of reselling them in Nigeria to raise capital for his business and to finance the naming ceremony of his newborn child.
Onyekwere, who lives on Rua Ever, Mulariuha, São Paulo, reportedly said he had been in Brazil since 2008 and had operated a toy business for about nine years.
Meanwhile, at the Tincan Seaport in Lagos, NDLEA officers, in a joint operation with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, intercepted 55 jumbo bags of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, weighing 1,183kg, imported from Montreal, Canada.
The illicit consignment was hidden inside two vehicles — a Hyundai SUV and a Toyota Matrix — inside a container examined on Wednesday, January 28.
In Niger State, operatives acting on intelligence on Tuesday, January 26, intercepted a truck along the Dei-Dei–Abuja Expressway and arrested Andy Chidogu, 49; Kenneth Ogene, 45; and Sadiq Olanrewaju, 27, for transporting 176 bags of skunk weighing 2,735kg and one kilogramme of Colorado concealed in the vehicle.
Investigations showed the truck had earlier carried flour from Lagos to Ekpoma, Edo State, before being used to convey the drugs for a fee of ₦1.7 million.
In Edo State, NDLEA officers on January 27 arrested Shaibu Yusuf along the Auchi-Abuja Expressway with 66 bags of skunk concealed in charcoal sacks, weighing 792kg, bound for Katsina.
Also in Edo, operatives supported by the Nigerian Army raided a cannabis farm at Ebora Camp, Ilushi, in Esan South-East LGA, where over 4,063kg of skunk was destroyed on 1.6 hectares of farmland, while 328kg of processed cannabis and seeds were recovered. Four suspects were arrested.
In Anambra State, officers intercepted a cement truck at Upper Iweka, Onitsha, and recovered 345.2kg of skunk concealed in cement bags, leading to the arrest of Abum Okeke, 42.
In Ondo State, two suspects — Tunde Ogundele, 39, and Soji Elegbeleye, 46 — were arrested in Akure North with 473kg of skunk.
In Kano, Abdullahi Usman, 45, was arrested with 12,500 ampoules of pentazocine, while another suspect, Musa Shuaibu, 42, was caught in Gaya with 4,390 tramadol pills.
In Lagos, Oragwan Ekene was arrested at Alaba with 15.5kg of skunk heading to Onitsha, while at the Seme border, Badagry, NDLEA recovered 3.5kg of skunk from the luggage of Omang Peter Edward arriving from Cotonou, Benin Republic.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO, retired Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa commended officers of the MMIA, Tincan, Niger, Edo, Anambra, Ondo, Lagos and Kano Commands for the arrests and seizures, urging them to sustain a balanced approach to drug supply and demand reduction.
Across the country, the agency also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
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