PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (CHATNEWSTV) — A Nigerian businessman heading to Iran has been arrested at Port Harcourt International Airport for ingesting 53 wraps of cocaine, Nigeria’s anti-narcotics agency said Sunday.
Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian, 44, was apprehended on June 7 while attempting to board Qatar Airways flight QR1434 en route to Tehran via Doha, according to a statement released on Sunday from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
“After a body scan returned positive for drug ingestion, the suspect was placed under observation and later excreted 53 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.172 kilograms over six rounds,” the agency said.
Ezemokwe allegedly confessed he had been trafficking drugs between West Africa and Iran for the past two years.
The arrest comes barely two weeks after NDLEA operatives at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport intercepted a 60-year-old man, Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, attempting to smuggle 65 pellets of cocaine to Iran.
Tramadol hidden in winter jackets
In a related bust, NDLEA officers at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport on June 14 stopped a passenger bound for Italy aboard an Air France flight.
The suspect, Edobor Ambrose Ali, was caught with 14,410 pills of tramadol (225mg and 200mg) hidden inside winter jackets, the agency said.
“Ali admitted he lives in Italy and was paid €2,000 to deliver the drugs to Milan,” NDLEA said, adding that Aviation Security officials assisted in identifying the consignment during tarmac scanning.
N1.1bn worth of codeine seized in Rivers
Elsewhere, operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports in Onne intercepted a container carrying 157,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup, concealed behind 257 cartons of ceramic sanitary wares. The shipment, valued at more than N1.1 billion in street price, was flagged during a joint inspection with Customs and other security agencies on June 13.
2.6 tons of cannabis in Cross River warehouse
In Cross River state, NDLEA officers on June 12 raided a warehouse in Obereakai, Odukpani LGA, recovering 2,687 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis.
Three suspects — Friday Achibong Joseph, 47; Abraham Anthony Willy, 21; and Utibe David Okon, 24 — were arrested during the operation.
On the same day in Bauchi state, 287 kilograms of skunk were discovered in a Toyota Camry along the Bauchi–Jos road. Two suspects — Iriemi Imonikhe, 49, and Sa’idu Ladan, 30 — were detained in the vehicle marked AKL 201 GG.
Ecstasy, skunk found at Maiduguri airport
At Maiduguri’s Muhammadu Buhari International Airport, two men — Ishaku Abdullahi, 30, and Buba Usman, 32 — were arrested in the domestic arrivals hall with ecstasy pills and skunk disguised in branded packs labelled “Lychee” and “Porro Legal.”
Also, NDLEA’s Marine Command in Lagos seized 14 jumbo sacks of skunk weighing 560 kilograms from a wooden boat at Oniru Beach.
WADA campaign ongoing in schools
The agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization efforts continued across multiple states last week, reaching schools in Enugu, Ebonyi, Oyo, and Akwa Ibom, including Command Secondary School, Orba; Divine Gift International School, Abakaliki; and St. Vincent Secondary School, Oti-Oron Okobo.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd.), commended officers for maintaining a balance between drug supply suppression and demand reduction.
“I salute the efforts of our men and women across the country for their vigilance and commitment to the fight against drug trafficking,” Marwa said.
Editor: Gabriel Ani
