Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a 62-year-old Lagos-based businessman, Nwabueze Izueke, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano State, for attempting to smuggle cocaine out of the country.
Izueke was apprehended during the outward clearance of passengers travelling to China via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940.
In a statement released on Sunday, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the suspect was intercepted after officials subjected him to a body scan, which revealed the presence of illicit substances in his system.
“A body scan conducted on the suspect confirmed that he had ingested illicit drugs. He was thereafter placed under observation,” Babafemi said.
According to the agency, Izueke excreted a total of 95 jumbo-sized pellets of cocaine, weighing 1.589 kilograms, in seven separate excretions.
Babafemi said the suspect, who claimed to be involved in clothing and auto spare parts business in Lagos, admitted during interrogation that he intended to traffic the drugs to China to raise funds to complete a house under construction in his hometown.
“In his statement, he confessed that financial pressure from an ongoing building project in his village, Iwollo, Enugu State, pushed him into drug trafficking,” Babafemi disclosed.
The NDLEA spokesman noted that the arrest was part of a broader nationwide operation that led to multiple seizures and arrests across several states.
In the Federal Capital Territory, Babafemi said operatives uncovered 627.7 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, hidden in a makeshift warehouse at Fums Plaza, Kubwa.
He added that attempts to smuggle methamphetamine concealed in MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna were also thwarted, leading to the arrest of four suspects.
“The consignments were intercepted in a commercial bus, while a follow-up operation led to the arrest of the parcel owner in Zuba, FCT, and three others who came to collect the drugs in Kaduna,” he said.
Babafemi further disclosed that in Taraba State, NDLEA officers intercepted methamphetamine concealed in yoghurt packs, while in Oyo State, several arrests were made, including the bust of a drug production facility used for manufacturing synthetic cannabis.
“In Ibadan, operatives arrested a suspect with large quantities of tramadol and pentazocine, while a notorious drug kingpin running a synthetic cannabis laboratory was also apprehended with cash and vehicles recovered,” he added.
He said additional seizures of skunk, tramadol and other illicit substances were recorded in Imo, Ondo, Kwara, Lagos and Enugu states, including the arrest of a couple found with over 200 kilograms of cannabis in Imo State.
The NDLEA reiterated its commitment to intensifying its nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking networks and urged members of the public to support the agency with credible information.
