NDLEA: Two Nigerians Excrete 200 Cocaine Wraps En Route to Paris

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two Europe-based Nigerians who allegedly swallowed 200 wraps of cocaine in an attempt to smuggle the illicit drug to Paris, France.

The suspects, identified as Aliocus Godian Odife and Sam Blackborn, were intercepted on Wednesday, October 28, during the outward clearance of an Air France flight, AF 832, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The agency said the two men had travelled to Nigeria for holidays before attempting to return to France with a combined 3.46 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in their stomachs.

Odife, who reportedly lives in France and works in a factory, arrived in Nigeria on October 21 for a short holiday. However, NDLEA operatives arrested him as he prepared to board his return flight after a body scan revealed foreign objects in his stomach.

During questioning, he admitted swallowing 110 pellets of cocaine. Officers placed him under observation, during which he expelled all 110 wraps. The recovered substance tested positive for cocaine and weighed 1.901 kilogrammes.

His co-traveller, Blackborn, also tested positive for drug ingestion during a body scan at the airport.

He confessed to swallowing 90 pellets of cocaine and subsequently expelled all of them under observation. The recovered wraps weighed 1.559 kilogrammes.

The two arrests formed part of a series of operations through which the agency seized large quantities of illicit drugs and arrested suspected traffickers across several states.

In Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted two vehicles conveying skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, from the Island to the Mainland on Sunday, October 25.

The first operation along Kudirat Abiola Way, Ikeja, led to the seizure of 537 kilogrammes of the substance from a white Volkswagen LT 28 bus.

On the same day, another team intercepted a brown J5 bus along the Gbagada-Oshodi Expressway and recovered an additional 439 kilogrammes of skunk.

In Oyo State, officers arrested two men, Oguntona Nasiru, 46, and Soji Balogun, 47, while they loaded 554 kilogrammes of skunk into a Volvo truck along Idere Road, Igboora, on Thursday, October 29.

The operation targeted a suspected drug dealer identified as Omo Oba, who escaped arrest during an earlier raid on October 25.

During that operation, officers seized 309.5 kilogrammes of Ghanaian Loud, a potent cannabis strain allegedly linked to the fleeing suspect.

In Kano State, NDLEA operatives raided a location in Tsamiya, Gezawa, on Monday, October 26, recovering 247,500 tablets of diazepam weighing 57.7 kilogrammes.

They also seized 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 weighing 38.7 kilogrammes.

Two days later, another operation in Dorayi led to the arrest of Ziya’ulhaq Abdullahi, 35, and Garba Muhammed, 52, with 19,250 tramadol 225mg pills weighing 13.6 kilogrammes.

Meanwhile, operatives on patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway arrested a woman, Aisha Isah, at a tollgate with 266 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition.

On the Zaria-Kano Expressway, officers arrested 68-year-old Ifeanyi Egwolonwu at Gwargwaje, Zaria, with 2,770 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 100 ampoules of diazepam injection, 11,000 diazepam tablets and 4,500 Exol-5 tablets.

Another raid at Tashan Banke led to the arrest of seven suspects, including Faisal Adamu. Officers also recovered 178.85 kilogrammes of cannabis and quantities of diazepam, tramadol, Exol-5 and pregabalin.

In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives raided cannabis farms in Ijare Forest on Sunday, October 25, following intelligence reports.

The operation resulted in the arrest of four suspects, including Bassey Okon, 24; Abraham Edet, 20; and Oto Udo, 24. Officers also recovered 16 bags of processed cannabis weighing 180 kilogrammes.

In Edo State, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, raided Eko Camp, Illushi, in Esan South-East Local Government Area on Wednesday, October 28.

The operation uncovered a cannabis plantation covering 1.646 hectares, with an estimated yield of 4,115.53 kilogrammes.

Officers destroyed the plantation and arrested a 50-year-old woman, Christiana Uboi, with 301 kilogrammes of processed cannabis. They also recovered another 176 kilogrammes during the operation.

Similarly, operatives of the agency’s Zone 7 Command arrested 68-year-old Ibrahim Ayuba in Sokoto on Saturday, October 31, with 236.6 kilogrammes of skunk.

Beyond the arrests and seizures, the agency also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through sensitisation programmes in schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities.

The activities covered Obawole Grammar School II, Ojodu, Lagos; Nsukka High School, Enugu State; Government Technical College, Dorayi Babba Rijiyar Zaki, Kano; and Ajagbe Comprehensive High School, Iperu, Ogun State, among other institutions.

Commending officers across the affected commands, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described the arrest of the two cocaine couriers at Abuja airport as a warning to Nigerians who believe their residence abroad could shield them from drug trafficking investigations.

Marwa said officers at the country’s entry and exit points remained vigilant, adding that there was no hiding place for anyone who risked their lives and freedom by ingesting illicit drugs for financial gain.

He urged personnel across the country to sustain the pressure on drug trafficking networks while strengthening efforts to reduce drug demand through public education and WADA sensitisation activities.