The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, says a 59-year-old businessman, Chijioke Nnanna Igbokwe, has undergone surgery, exploratory laparotomy, to let out 57 out of 81 pellets of cocaine stuck in his stomach after seven days of ingesting the illicit substance in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The NDLEA spokesperson said Femi Babafemi, Igbokwe was arrested at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport during the inward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight on Sunday, 26th January 2025.
Femi Babafemi said the suspect was promptly taken for a body scan, which revealed illicit drugs in his system, and was soon after taken into NDLEA custody for excretion observation.
He said investigation revealed that Igbokwe, who claims to be in the cloth business at Arena, Oshodi area of Lagos, departed Lagos on 22nd January to Addis Ababa, where he ingested the 81 wraps of cocaine the following day, 23rd January, and boarded a flight to Beirut, Lebanon, to deliver the illicit consignment for a fee of $3,000.
MEANWHILE, The NDLEA disclosed that in another operation, they intercepted a consignment of 2,000 kilograms of Ghanaian Loud, a strain of cannabis produced in Ghana, at Lekki beach, where two suspects, Sunday Awoyede and Christopher Cletus, attempted loading them into a truck.
The suspects, the skunk shipment, and the van were immediately taken into custody, according to the NDLEA.
It added that another suspect, Lawal Idris Olasunkanmi, was also arrested the same day with 55kg of skunk during a raid at his base in the Mushin area of Lagos.
