The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has successfully apprehended a 44-year-old businessman, Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian, at Port Harcourt International Airport for attempting to smuggle 53 wraps of cocaine concealed within his body. The suspect was intercepted on Saturday, June 7, while trying to board Qatar Airways flight QR1434 destined for Tehran Khomeini International Airport via Doha.
Following a routine body scan, which indicated narcotics ingestion, Ezemokwe was placed under close medical observation. Over several hours, he excreted the illicit drugs in six separate batches, totaling 1.172 kilograms. According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the suspect confessed to being involved in trafficking cocaine between West Africa and Iran for the past two years.
This arrest comes shortly after a similar incident at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, where another businessman, 60-year-old Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, was caught with 65 wraps of cocaine internally concealed, also bound for Iran.
In a related development, NDLEA officers at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos arrested Edobor Ambrose Ali, who attempted to smuggle 14,410 tramadol pills hidden inside winter jackets on an Air France flight to Italy. The suspect admitted to being hired to courier the drugs to Milan for a fee of 2,000 Euros.
The NDLEA also intercepted a massive shipment of 157,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup valued at over ₦1.1 billion at the Port Harcourt Ports in Onne. The consignment was concealed behind cartons of ceramic sanitary wares during a joint operation with Customs and security agencies.
Further seizures include 2,687 kilograms of skunk cannabis recovered from a warehouse raid in Cross River State, and 287 kilograms found in a vehicle on the Bauchi–Jos road. Additionally, 560 kilograms of skunk were retrieved from a wooden boat at Oniru beach in Lagos.
At Muhammadu Buhari International Airport in Maiduguri, two businessmen were arrested with ecstasy pills and cannabis disguised as sweets labeled ‘Lychee’ and ‘Porro Legal.’
The NDLEA continues to intensify efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks across Nigeria’s airports, seaports, and borders.
Watch the video below;
