Two Nigerian men residing in France have been arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, after allegedly swallowing 200 wraps of cocaine weighing 3.46 kilogrammes in an attempt to smuggle the drugs to Europe.
The suspects, identified as Aliocus Godian Odife and Sam Blackborn, were apprehended by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Wednesday, October 28, while undergoing departure clearance for an Air France flight to Paris.
The two men had reportedly travelled to Nigeria for a holiday before allegedly ingesting the cocaine wraps in preparation for their return journey to France.
According to the NDLEA, the suspects were subjected to body scans which revealed suspicious foreign objects in their stomachs. They were subsequently arrested and placed under medical observation.
The agency disclosed the development in a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
Odife, who reportedly lives and works in a factory in France, arrived in Nigeria on October 21 for a short holiday.
However, as he prepared to return to France, a body scan conducted by NDLEA operatives allegedly showed that he had swallowed illicit substances.
During interrogation, he reportedly confessed to ingesting 110 pellets of cocaine. He subsequently excreted all the wraps under observation.
The recovered cocaine tested positive for the substance and weighed 1.901 kilogrammes.
His travelling companion, Blackborn, was also intercepted at the airport’s departure hall after a body scan indicated the presence of foreign objects in his stomach.
He reportedly admitted swallowing 90 pellets of cocaine and later excreted all of them while under observation. The recovered substances tested positive for cocaine and weighed 1.559 kilogrammes.
The arrests were part of several anti-drug operations carried out by the NDLEA across different states, resulting in the seizure of large quantities of illicit drugs and the recovery of live ammunition.
In a separate operation along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway, NDLEA operatives arrested a woman identified as Aisha Isah at a tollgate with 266 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition. The agency, however, did not disclose the intended destination of the ammunition or its recipient.
Similarly, operatives along the Zaria-Kano Expressway arrested a 68-year-old man, Ifeanyi Egwolonwu, at Gwargwaje in Zaria. He was allegedly found with 2,770 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 100 ampoules of diazepam injection, 11,000 tablets of diazepam and 4,500 tablets of Exol-5.
In Lagos State, NDLEA operatives intercepted two vehicles allegedly conveying large quantities of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, from Lagos Island to the Mainland.
The first operation, conducted on October 25, resulted in the interception of a white Volkswagen LT 28 bus along Kudirat Abiola Way, Ikeja, where 537 kilogrammes of skunk were recovered.
On the same day, another team intercepted a brown J5 bus along the Gbagada-Oshodi Expressway and recovered an additional 439 kilogrammes of the substance.
In Oyo State, two men, Oguntona Nasiru, 46, and Soji Balogun, 47, were arrested on October 29 while allegedly loading 554 kilogrammes of skunk into a Volvo truck along Idere Road, Igboora.
The operation followed an investigation into a suspected drug dealer identified as ‘Omo Oba’, who reportedly escaped during an earlier operation on October 25.
During the earlier operation, NDLEA operatives recovered 309.5 kilogrammes of cannabis, popularly known as Ghanaian Loud, allegedly linked to the suspected dealer.
In Kano State, operatives raided a location in the Tsamiya area of Gezawa on October 26, recovering 247,500 tablets of diazepam weighing 57.7 kilogrammes and 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 weighing 38.7 kilogrammes.
Another operation conducted two days later in the Dorayi area led to the arrest of Ziya’ulhaq Abdullahi, 35, and Garba Muhammed, 52, with 19,250 tablets of tramadol 225mg weighing 13.6 kilogrammes.
During a separate raid at Tashan Banke, seven suspects, including Faisal Adamu, were arrested. Operatives also recovered 178.85 kilogrammes of cannabis alongside quantities of diazepam, tramadol, Exol-5 and pregabalin.
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives raided cannabis farms in Ijare Forest on October 25 following intelligence reports and arrested four suspects.
Those arrested included Bassey Okon, 24; Abraham Edet, 20; and Oto Udo, 24. The operation resulted in the recovery of 16 bags of processed cannabis weighing 180 kilogrammes.
In Edo State, operatives, supported by soldiers, raided Eko Camp in Ilushi, Esan South East Local Government Area, on October 28.
The operation led to the destruction of a cannabis plantation covering 1.646 hectares, with an estimated yield of 4,115.53 kilogrammes.
A 50-year-old woman, Christiana Uboi, was arrested at the camp with 301 kilogrammes of processed cannabis, while an additional 176 kilogrammes was recovered during the operation.
In Sokoto State, operatives of the NDLEA Zone 7 Command arrested a 68-year-old man, Ibrahim Ayuba, on October 31, following an intelligence-led operation that led to the recovery of 236.6 kilogrammes of skunk.
Meanwhile, the agency said its commands across the country had continued public awareness campaigns under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative. The campaigns are being carried out in schools, religious institutions, workplaces and communities to educate Nigerians about the dangers of drug abuse and trafficking.
Reacting to the successful operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers involved, particularly those who intercepted the two suspected cocaine couriers at the Abuja airport.
Marwa described the arrests as a strong warning to Nigerians living abroad who might believe that residing in foreign countries could protect them from investigations and prosecution for drug trafficking.
He stressed that NDLEA officers at the country’s entry and exit points remained vigilant and warned Nigerians against risking their lives and freedom by swallowing illicit substances in exchange for money.
The NDLEA boss also directed officers to sustain the ongoing crackdown on drug trafficking networks while strengthening drug prevention, public sensitisation and awareness campaigns across the country.
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