Sunday Ejike, Author at Tribune Online

Desperate attempts by Brazil-based drug cartels to smuggle large consignments of cocaine into Nigeria through Port Harcourt, Abuja and Lagos International airports have been foiled by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), who arrested seven traffickers. At the Port Harcourt International Airport, five suspects were arrested on April 9 and three of them were arrested during the inward screening of passengers on board Qatar Airline flight QR1433 from Doha to Port Harcourt. Director of Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi said, in a statement on Sunday that, three suspects departed Sao Paulo, Brazil on board same Qatar flight, en-route Doha to Abuja and Port Harcourt with a total of 24.96 kilograms of cocaine. The first is 51-year-old Udogwu James Johnson who hails from Orlu LGA, Imo state. He was arrested with 5.48kg of cocaine concealed in lotion plastic bottles sealed with candle wax. He claimed he agreed to traffic the drug for a fee of N1 million. Also arrested is Ezekwueme Ifeanyi Valentine, from Anambra State, who was caught with 10.82kg cocaine packed in 84 sachets concealed in seven duvets, while the third trafficker, Chiezie Ikechukwu Arinze, also from Anambra State, was arrested with 8.66kg cocaine hidden in 115 golden and silver colour 30ml breakable bottles factory packaged with lotion on top. The fourth suspect, Uchechukwu Onwugbufor, from Idemili North LGA, Anambra State, was arrested at the airport car park while waiting to receive one of the traffickers, Udogwu James and his consignment. He claimed he was contacted by someone in Brazil to receive Udogwu and lead him to Lagos for a fee of N100, 000. The NDLEA spokesman said, Uchechukwu Onwugbufor was at the Airport with his neigbour, Nwogu Ezimadu, who is equally being investigated to determine if he is complicit in the crime or not. At the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, a Psychology graduate of Imo State University, Owerri, Sebastine Emeka Kelvin, was arrested with 74 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.454kg on arrival aboard Ethiopian Airline flight enroute Doula- Addis Ababa-Abuja on13th April. In Lagos, another Brazil based passenger, Uba Samuel was arrested at the Lagos Airport by NDLEA operatives on Friday, on arrival aboard Ethiopian Airline flight from Sao Paulo via Addis Ababa to Lagos with sachets of cocaine weighing 633grams concealed in his footwear and toothpaste tube. The suspect who claims to be a shoemaker and barber hails from Umunneochi, Abia state. While accepting ownership of the drug, he said he used his shoe making knowledge to conceal the drug in his pair of sandals. Uba who is a regular traveller confessed he bought the drug to sell at a market in Abia. Babafemi said, operatives of the Agency also arrested one Hassan Usman with a total of 22, 110 tablets of Tramadol, D5 and Exol 5, while one Ali Mohammed was nabbed in a commercial vehicle coming from Kano to Maiduguri with 40 blocks of cannabis weighing 33kg. Also arrested on the Kano-Maiduguri route was a driver, Ibrahim Khalil Idris with 60 packets of Tramadol, all on 12th April. In Kogi State, 750 blocks of Cannabis weighing 750kg were seized from two suspects: Hassan Adamu and Abdulmalik Abdullahi, along Okene-Abuja highway. The drug exhibits were concealed inside fabricated panels of a Ford bus.