The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Udechukwu Ekene Theophilus, a Brazil returnee, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. Udechukwu ingested 60 wraps of cocaine, totaling 1.279 kilograms, on a flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
According to the statement signed by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Udechukwu was apprehended during inward clearance at the Lagos airport on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sao Paulo via Addis Ababa. Initially refusing a body scan, he later accepted observation and excreted a total of 60 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.279 kilograms.
Udechukwu claimed he ingested the consignment in Brazil with the intention of discharging it at the airport in Addis Ababa. However, he could only excrete 15 pellets before handing them over to a syndicate member, as his connecting flight to Nigeria was called.
Additionally, NDLEA seized 12 cartons of tramadol weighing 385.40kg from an overstayed cargo at the SAHCO import shed in Lagos. The tramadol arrived in two batches on KLM Royal Dutch Airline flights from Karachi, Pakistan, between July 27 and August 1, 2023.
The NDLEA conducted operations in Yobe, Kogi, Kano, and Gombe-Bauchi road, leading to the seizure of 822 kilograms of cannabis sativa, arrests of suspects, and the interception of a truck carrying cannabis, tramadol, and diazepam pills.
Ex-beauty queen Ms. Aderinoye Queen Christmas, who escaped during a raid on her Lekki residence, has been declared wanted. The raid uncovered cannabis, drug-related items, and her association with illicit substances. Ms. Aderinoye was the Miss Commonwealth Nigeria Culture 2015/2016 and founder of the Queen Christmas Foundation.
In related arrests, members of an international drug trafficking syndicate, Sunday Michael Owoborode and Valentine Anene, were apprehended in Ogun state, while Sunday Adediran was caught in Lagos with 20kg of cannabis sativa.
