The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Brazilian returnee and father of two, Okolie Paulinus Nwabueze at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja for importing 92 wraps of cocaine.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said the 53-year-old trafficker who hails from Mmaku village, Awgu local government area of Enugu State, was arrested on Friday, September 2, 2022 upon his arrival on Qatar Airline flight enroute Brazil-Doha-Abuja and he excreted the cocaine after days under observation in the agency’s facility.
The NDLEA said the suspect claimed to have left Nigeria to Mozambique in 2004 and finally relocated to Brazil in 2017, where he obtained a residence permit before deciding to import the illicit substance for a $4,000 fee.
In the same vein, a 42-year-old man, Aliyu Bello Kwasare, has been arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, for attempting to export a consignment of new psychoactive substance, Akuskura, to Saudi Arabia.
The indigene of Kware LGA of Sokoto State, who lives in Goron Dutse area of Kano, was arrested on Monday, September 5, 2023, during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airline flight to Riyadh.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos, no fewer than 1,099,000 tablets of Tramadol 225mg have been seized through inter-agency collaboration between NDLEA and the Nigerian Customs Service.
The pharmaceutical opioids packed in 50 cartons weighing 2,058.90kg, were imported from Pakistan via Addis-Ababa on Ethiopian Airways.
The consignment was concealed among other non-controlled pharmaceuticals.
Also, a freight agent, Aliyu Abubakar, was on Friday, September 9 arrested at the NAHCO export shed of the airport over attempt to export a consignment of cannabis concealed inside bottles of Caro white body lotion.
Meanwhile, attempts by drug cartels to export 7.805 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine to the United States and Australia have been thwarted by NDLEA operatives attached to some courier companies in Lagos.
The meth consignments were concealed in the linings of local fabric, wooden statutes, printer cartridges, handle of travel bag and cassava flakes (Garri).
