Clement Chukwuemeka, 67, was detained by agents of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja after being found to have consumed 100 wraps of cocaine.
According to reports, the suspect admitted to engaging in the illegal activity to earn enough cash to wed a new bride and start over after spending 30 years of his life in Brazil, Ethiopia, and Thailand.
This was revealed in a statement made available to journalists on Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi.
“Chukwuemeka was arrested on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, during the inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight 951 from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,” Babafemi added.He passed four excretions totaling 100 wraps of cocaine weighing 2.195kg while being observed.
“In his testimony, he claimed to have lived in Brazil, Ethiopia, and Thailand for 30 years. He had previously been married, but his wife had passed away, and he was childless. He continued by saying that he made the decision to become involved in drug trafficking in order to earn enough cash to find a new wife and rebuild his life.
A 45-year-old lady named Bilkisu Bello was detained by agents on October 2, 2023, at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano as she prepared to board a Saudia Airlines trip to Saudi Arabia, according to Babafemi.
She admitted during an interview that cocaine pellets supplied to her to ingest before her flight were held in a home in Kano’s Farawa neighborhood. She guided NDLEA police to the home, where 52 wraps weighing a combined 767 grams of the illegal material were found.
The spokesperson for the anti-narcotics agency continued, “In the meantime, NDLEA operatives supported by officers and men of the Nigerian Army, Civil Defence Corps, and Amotekun personnel on Tuesday, October 3, stormed James town, in Ogunmakin, Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State where they located and destroyed 10.38 tonnes of cannabis sativa covering over 4.152 hectares.”
The NDLEA agents allegedly stopped a truck with the license plate FS548XN on their way back from the operation when it was transporting a 40-foot container filled with wood logs.
Two bags of cannabis sativa weighing 20 kg were found after the container was searched, and six suspects — Ahmed Yusuf, Olaniyi Babatunde, Adedeji Babatunde, Richard John, Osolale Olamilekan, and Abdulazeez Saied — who were inside the truck were also taken into custody.