Suspect
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has said it arrested a Nigerian returnee from Thailand for allegedly importing 13.30kg of heroin at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos.
The drug found on the suspect, identified as Oguejiofor Nnaemeka Simon Peter, is worth over N3.192 billion.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives intercepted large consignments of opioids with a cumulative value N22.7 billion
at three seaports.
Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
He said Oguejiofor was arrested while attempting to smuggle the illicit drug, which he concealed in six backpacks inside two big suitcases, out of the airport on Monday, October 7, 2024.
The 29-year-old graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Anambra State, the statement said, had left Thailand on October 3, 2024 on a Qatar Airways flight and stopped over in Doha, Qatar, where he spent two days before heading to Lagos while his luggage was routed to Accra, Ghana, his original destination.
According to the statement, the NDLEA officers arrested Oguejiofor at the point of exit after he had contacted the airline to reroute his luggage to Nigeria to enable him to pick them up as rush bags in order to evade security checks.
Furthermore, the statement disclosed after searching the suspect’s two suitcases, three empty backpacks in each box with a large parcel of heroin, weighing 13.30kg and neatly sewn to all the six backpacks, were discovered.
The suspect claimed in his statement that he was hired for a fee of $7,000 if he successfully delivered the parcels, adding that he was to deliver four parcels in Accra, Ghana, and the remaining two parcels in Lagos.
In a related development, NDLEA has announced that a total of 32,607,900 pills of tramadol worth over N12.5 billion and 1,451,994 bottles of codeine-based syrup with a street value of N10.1 billion were intercepted at the Lekki Deep Seaport, Apapa Seaport in Lagos and Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers State.
The anti-narcotic agency stated that the combined monetary value of the seized opioids is about N22.7 billion.
The illicit consignments were seized from containers watch-listed by NDLEA based on intelligence and processed for 100 percent joint examination with men of the Nigeria Customs and other security agencies at the three seaports between Monday 7th and Friday 11th October 2024.
In the same vein, NDLEA operatives in Anambra on Saturday 12th October 2024 arrested a suspect, Okelue Chidera, 29, with 50,000 tablets of tramadol 200mg at Upper Iweka, Onitsha.
Also, in Edo State, the NDLEA arrested a 38-year-old suspect, Monday Akele, on Friday, October 11, 2024 in another raid at Owan Village, Ovia North East LGA where 110kg of same substance was seized.
Similarly, operatives raided a cannabis transit and loading point at Aviose, Owan West LGA, where 70 bags of the psychoactive substance weighing 1,050kg were recovered.
