A businessman from Onitsha, Ibeanusi Nosike, has excreted 68 wraps of cocaine after being arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
Nosike, who was on his way to Vietnam, was taken into custody after authorities discovered he had ingested the drugs.
The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, confirmed the arrest in a statement released on Sunday.
He said, “An Onitsha, Anambra state-based businessman, Ibeanusi Solomon Nosike, has excreted 68 wraps of cocaine after 12 days of excretion observation following his arrest at the local wing of the MMIA Ikeja Lagos by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.”
Nosike, 36, was apprehended on the morning of Thursday, August 8, 2024, at the old domestic terminal of the Lagos airport. He was attempting to board the first flight out of Lagos to Abuja, where he planned to catch a connecting flight to Vietnam from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
“The suspect who came under NDLEA surveillance following intelligence had arrived in Lagos from his base in Onitsha, Anambra state, the previous day, August 7, and lodged in a hotel where he swallowed the 68 wraps of cocaine before heading to the airport for a 6:30 am flight the following morning,” Babafemi explained.
He further noted, “He was thereafter intercepted by NDLEA operatives who moved him into excretion observation where he spent the next 12 days excreting the cocaine pellets weighing 1.282 kilograms.”
In a related development, Babafemi also revealed the arrest of another Onitsha-based businessman, Aligbo Jacob, who was apprehended after NDLEA operatives intercepted a consignment of 1.20kg of cannabis concealed in a package bound for Dubai, UAE.
“Operatives at the MMIA Strategic Command of the Agency had intercepted the shipment at the export shed of the Lagos airport while investigations revealed the cargo was sent through a courier company in Onitsha. After a series of follow-up operations, Aligbo was eventually arrested in Onitsha on Saturday, 17th August,” Babafemi stated.
He also mentioned that an all-female drug trafficking gang had been arrested by the NDLEA’s Special Operations Unit at the Seme border. The leader of the syndicate, 42-year-old Olaribigbe Bashirat Feyisara, along with four other members, was caught with 14 packs of “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, hidden on their bodies.
“At the point of their arrest at the Seme border, a total of 14 packs of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, weighing a total of 6.97kg, were recovered from hidden parts of their bodies,” Babafemi said.
The NDLEA continues its crackdown on drug trafficking, with recent operations in Lagos, Edo, Kogi, and Oyo states leading to multiple arrests and significant drug seizures.
