– Two Nigerians were caught smuggling heroin into the country through Lagos airport
– The street value of the drug was estimated at N575 million
– The NDLEA vowed to crack down on drug smugglers
Two suspected drug dealers have been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.
According to Sahara Reporters, the duo was apprehended importing 6.390kg of substances that tested positive for heroin into the country.
The drugs were hidden in their luggage and estimated to have a street value of N575 million.
One of the drug traffickers was caught on arrival from Kigali, Rwanda while the other was arrested on arrival from Nairobi, Kenya.
Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju who is the spokesperson of the NDLEA said 32 year-old Egwin Cajetan Chinedu was caught with 3.900kg of heroin while King Sunday was found in possession of 2.490kg of heroin.
King Sunday
“Egwin arrived from Kigali on a RwandAir flight while King Sunday imported the drug found on him from Nairobi during inward screening of passengers on an Ethiopian Airline flight. Both suspects are being investigated.”
Mr. Ahmadu Garba who is the NDLEA commander in Lagos airport revealed that the two were paid to import the drugs.
Mr. Chinedu who resides in Owerri said that he needed money to repair his commercial tricycle which was why he agreed to smuggle drugs while Mr. Sunday left his wife after four days of marriage on the guise of a business trip and confessed that he needed money for his honeymoon and business.
Mr. Chinedu said: “The engine of my tricycle, which is my only source of livelihood, is bad. While I was looking for money to fix it, I was introduced to the man that promised to pay me the sum of N400,000 on the condition that I will bring his drug from Kigali.”
“I accepted the offer because nobody was willing to help me. I dropped out of school in Junior Secondary class two. Apart from the repairs, my rent is due and my landlord had been asking for his money.”
Mr. Sunday said: “I erroneously took the decision to smuggle drugs barely four days after my marriage. I was in need of money for my honeymoon and also for my business, but I should not have involved myself in drug trafficking.
“My thinking was that I could smuggle the drugs from Nairobi in two days without my wife knowing that I travelled out of the country. All my life, I have been upright in my transactions but this is a huge mistake and I regret my action.”
Col. Muhammad Abdallah (retd) who is the chief executive of NDLEA noted that that drug traffickers were now turning to African countries to smuggle heroin that is produced in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Thailand and other far away countries.
“The agency successfully foiled their plan with the arrest and seizure of the drugs. Drug cartels thought it would be easy to smuggle the drugs into the country since heroin is not produced in Africa, but I am happy that we are thinking far ahead of them. The Agency will continue to maintain this lead until they are completely dislodged.”
This arrest is coming a few weeks after the Singaporean government executed Chijioke Stephen Obioha for drug trafficking in the early hours of Friday, November 18.
Obioha was found in possession of 2,604.56g of cannabis, surpassing the statutory amount of 500 grams that under Singapore law triggers the automatic presumption of trafficking in 2007.
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