The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested one Igbainoba Uche Rose for allegedly importing 193 wraps of cocaine concealed inside packs of sweets.
The 24-year-old suspect was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos after disembarking from a flight from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Another suspected member of the drug cartel was also arrested.
Ofeyeju Mitchell, the NDLEA spokesman, said that the whitish substance concealed in sweets tested positive to cocaine and weighed 3.230kgs.
Mr. Ahmadu Garba, NDLEA commander at the Lagos Airport, said that the suspect who hails from Edo State was found in possession of the drug while a suspected member of the drug cartel in Lagos was successfully traced and apprehended.
“One Igbainoba Uche Rose who concealed 3.230kgs inside sweets was apprehended at the arrival hall during inward screening of passengers.
“A suspected member of the cartel, Ofor Kamsochukwu Chimezie, was arrested on a follow-up operation. The suspects are being investigated,” Ahmadu stated.
Rose said that she started working as a clerical officer after her secondary school. “I work as a clerical staff after I completed my secondary school because there was no money to further my studies. I have suffered hardship in life but a man offered to assist me set up my personal business. He promised to pay me half a million naira. This was how I got involved in this problem” Rose stated.
Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, warned drug traffickers to desist from their criminal acts.
“Drug criminals should shun their unlawful act because the Agency has perfected strategies to detect narcotics notwithstanding how cleverly they were concealed. Recent drug seizures clearly reflect the reformation of the NDLEA as an intelligence-led organisation. We are determined to trace major traffickers behind the scene and prosecute the barons,” Abdallah warned.
The NDLEA Chairman assured Nigerians that no drug trafficker would go unpunished.
He said, “We are working hard to perfect the practice of aggressive follow-up on every case from the first to the last person behind every case of drug trafficking. Drug barons shall have no escape route. “This way, drug trafficking will either be drastically reduced or completely eliminated from our society,” he said.
