By Bankole Abe
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested Okolie Paulinus Nwabueze, a Nigerian returning from Brazil, for importing 92 wraps of cocaine, which he ingested and eventually excreted after days of observation in the agency’s facility.
Nwabueze, a father of two, was apprehended at Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA).
The 53-year-old trafficker, who hails from Mmaku village, Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State, was arrested on Friday, September 2, upon his arrival on a Qatar Airline flight en route Brazil-Doha-Abuja, according to NDLEA Director, Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a statement issued today.
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“He claimed to have left Nigeria to Mozambique in 2004 and finally relocated to Brazil in 2017, where he obtained a residence permit before deciding to import the illicit substance for a $4,000 fee,” the agency stated.
In the same vein, the NDLEA said it arrested a 25-year-old pregnant woman, Haruna Favour, in Auchi, Edo State, on Friday, September 9 with 82 pinches of methamphetamine and various quantities of loud, arizona and colorado variants of cannabis and codeine-based cough syrup.
The NDLEA statement added that a 42-year-old man, Aliyu Bello Kwasare, was arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, for attempting to export a consignment of a new psychoactive substance, Akuskura, to Saudi Arabia.
“The indigene of Kware LGA, Sokoto, who lives in Goron Dutse area of Kano, was arrested on Monday 5th September during the outward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airline flight to Riyadh.
“In addition, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, no fewer than 1,099,000 tablets of Tramadol 225mg have been seized through inter-agency collaboration between the NDLEA and the Nigerian Customs,” the statement added.
The NDLEA Chairman, Mohammed Buba Marwa, commended the officers and men of the NAIA, MMIA, DOGI, MAKIA, Kano, Kogi, Edo, Ondo and Gombe Commands for their resilience and charged them and their compatriots in other commands to remain focused and vigilant in their areas of responsibility.
