Not less than 35 wraps of cocaine were recovered from the underwear of a lady, Edith Okafor by operatives of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, during the outward clearance of passengers on Air Cote d’Ivoire, to Monrovia, Liberia, from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos.
The suspect, who was arrested on Saturday, July 31, 2021, was said to have tucked the pellets of cocaine in her underwear to beat security checks at the airport.
A statement on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said Okafor was picked up for search and questioning during which the wraps of the illicit drug were found on her.
“During preliminary interview, she claimed that her desire to make money pushed her into drug trafficking,” Babafemi said.
Another suspect, Echendu Maduakolam, an intending passenger heading for Istanbul was arrested at the Gate ‘A’ departure hall of the MMIA on Tuesday, July 27, during the outward clearance of Egypt Air passengers to Turkey with 78grams of cannabis mixed with dried bitter leaves.
On the same day, another intending male passenger, Egbon Osarodion, who was on his way to Milan, Italy, was arrested at the Gate ‘A’ departure hall during the outward clearance of passengers on Egypt Air with different quantities of 225 mg Tramadol and Rohypnol concealed in foil papers wrapped in a polyethylene bag.
Similarly, operatives of the Kontagora Area Command of the agency, acting on credible intelligence, in the early hours of Thursday, July 29, 2021, raided a warehouse at Mailefe village in the Kontagora Local Government Area of Niger State, where drug supplies for bandits operating in parts of the state were stored.
After a thorough search of the warehouse, 125 bags of cannabis sativa were recovered, while a man seen praying in front of the warehouse fled into the forest when he sighted the narcotic officers from afar.
The Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig Gen Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the commanders, officers and men of the MMIA and Niger State commands for their continued efforts in tracking down traffickers of illicit drugs in their areas of responsibility.
He charged them and their counterparts in other commands to remain focused and resolute in pursuit of the goal to rid Nigeria of illicit substances and drug related criminalities.
