By Emma Njoku
Thirty-five wraps of cocaine were recovered from the underwear of a lady, Okafor Ebere Edith, by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on Saturday, during the outward clearance of passengers on Air Coted’voire, to Monrovia, Liberia, from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, who made the disclosure in a statement, said the suspect, who tucked the pellets of cocaine in her underwear, to beat security checks at the airport was, however, picked up for search and questioning during which the wraps of the illicit drug were found on her.
Babafemi said: “During the preliminary interview, she claimed her desire to make money pushed her into drug trafficking.
“Another suspect, Echendu Jerry Maduakolam, an intending male passenger going to Istanbul, was arrested at Gate A departure hall of the MMIA, on Tuesday, July 27, during outward clearance of Egypt airline to Turkey, with 78grams of cannabis mixed with dried bitter leaves.
On the same day, another intending male passenger, Egbon Osarodion, going to Milan, Italy, was arrested at the airport’s Gate A departure hall, during outward clearance of passengers on Egypt airline, with different quantities of 225 mg Tramadol and Rohypnol concealed in foil papers wrapped in a polyethylene bag.”
In a related development, NDLEA operatives from Kontagora Area command of the agency, acting on credible intelligence, in the early hours of Thursday, July 29, raided a warehouse at Mailefe village, in Kontagora Local Government Area of Niger state, where drug supplies for bandits operating in parts of the state were stored.
Babafemi said 125 bags of cannabis sativa were recovered from the warehouse, while a man seen praying in front of the house fled into the forest when he sighted the narcotic officers from afar.
Meanwhile, Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), commended the commanders, officers and men of the MMIA and Niger state commands of the agency for their continued efforts in tracking down traffickers of illicit drugs.
