NDLEA makes twin arrest on Nigeria/Brazil route

· Suspects insert cocaine in alimentary canals

OFFICIALS of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, have made a twin arrest on Nigeria-Brazil route.

The agency recovered 700 grammes of powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine from two suspects, during the inward screening of passengers on a Royal Air Maroc flight  from Sao Paulo, Brazil through Casablanca, Morocco.

The suspects inserted seven wraps of cocaine, each weighing 350 grammes, into their alimentary canals to evade arrest.

NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport, Ahmadu Garba, said “preliminary investigation revealed that both suspects planned and executed the unlawful act together. They inserted seven wraps of cocaine each into their bodies weighing 350 grammes.”

One of the suspects, who hails from Enugu State, said accepting to smuggle drugs was due to frustration and as a means of returning from Brazil.

According to him, “I was stranded in Brazil where I worked as a waiter in a restaurant for two years. Life was awful as I was struggling daily just to feed myself.

“When I was contacted to smuggle cocaine to Nigeria, I was happy because it was an opportunity to return home. My sponsor also promised to pay me half a million naira, with which I had planned to start a business,” he said.

The second suspect, who had also spent two years in Brazil, described his arrest as ill-luck.

“I am a businessman. I import female shoes from Brazil since 2014. This arrest is just bad luck for me because I was already calculating my profit from the deal,” the 37-year-old who hails from Anambra State stated.