Thailand Returnee Arrested with N3.1b Heroin Hidden in 6 Bags at Lagos Airport

*As NDLEA intercepts N22.7b worth of opioids at Lekki, Apapa, Onne seaports

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos a Nigerian returnee from Thailand, Oguejiofor Nnaemeka, for importing 13.3 kilogrammes of heroin worth about N3.2 billion.

The NDLEA also at three seaports intercepted large consignments of opioids with a combined monetary value of over N22.7 billion.

A statement by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday said Oguejiofor was arrested last Monday while attempting to smuggle out of the airport the illicit drug concealed in six backpacks and then packed into two big suitcases.

He said the 29-year-old graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Anambra State, had left Thailand on 3rd October on Qatar Airways flight and stopped over in Doha where he spent two days before heading to Lagos while his luggage was routed to Accra, Ghana, his original destination.

He said after arriving Lagos on the 5th October, Oguejiofor contacted the airline to reroute his luggage to Nigeria so that he can pick them up as rush bags in a bit to beat security checks, but he was however intercepted by NDLEA officers at the point of exit; and during a search of his two suitcases, three empty backpacks in each box with a large parcel of heroin neatly sewn to all the six backpacks were discovered. The six parcels were subsequently recovered with a gross weight of 13.30kg.

Babafemi said Oguejiofor, in his statement, claimed he was hired for a fee of $7,000 upon successful delivery of the parcels. He said he was to deliver two parcels in Lagos and the other four parcels in Accra, Ghana.

In other clampdowns, Babafemi said a total of 32,607,900 pills of tramadol worth about N12.6 billion and 1,451,994 bottles of codeine-based syrup with a street value of about N10.2 billion have been intercepted at the Lekki Deep Seaport, Apapa seaport in Lagos and Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers state.

He noted that the combined monetary value of the seized opioids comes to over N22.7 billion.

The NDLEA spokesman said the illicit consignments were seized from containers watch listed by the agency 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 last Monday and Friday.

In the same vein, NDLEA operatives in Anambra on Saturday arrested a suspect, Okelue Chidera, 29, with 50,000 tablets of tramadol 200mg at Upper Iweka, Onitsha.

Also, in Edo State, operatives raided a cannabis transit and loading point at Aviose, Owan West Local Government Area where 70 bags of the psychoactive substance weighing 1,050 kilogrammes were recovered, while a suspect Monday Akele, 38, was arrested last Friday in another raid at Owan Village, Ovia North East Local Government Area where 110 kilogrammes of same substance was seized.

Babafemi said with the same vigour, commands and formations of the agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.

Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.) while lauding officers of the agency for a job well done, stated that the operational successes of officers across the country especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.