NDLEA Nabs Cocaine, Heroin Ingesting Businessmen Bound For Hong Kong, France

NDLEA operatives arrested one Chimamkpa Emenike (38) on October 20 and one Agbo Chidike (41) on October 21 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for ingesting hard drugs. Emenike was jetting out to France with his ingested heroin while Chidike was on his way to Hong Kong with cocaine in his belly when they were arrested. Director, Media and Advocacy at the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi stated on Sunday in Abuja, that Emenike was arrested at the boarding gate of the airport while attempting to board an Air France flight to Paris. He added that Chidike was taken into custody on October 21 while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Hong Kong via Addis Ababa. “After days in custody, Emenike excreted 72 wraps of heroin weighing 1.171kg, while Chidike discharged 49 pellets of cocaine weighing 998.53gm. “In his statement, Chidike claimed he is a businessman dealing in spare parts at the Alaba International market in Ojo area of Lagos. “Chidike was to be paid N3.5 million which he intended to use to import goods from Hong Kong,’’ Babafemi stated. He added that NDLEA operatives intercepted a Qatar Airways passenger, Agbo Tochukwu, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, on Wednesday, October 25 while on his way to Oman. The suspect had 58 parcels of skunk weighing 29.10kg on him while undergoing processes of boarding his flight. “In his statement, Tochukwu claimed he migrated to Oman on May 6 and had been working as hotel attendant there before venturing into drug trafficking,’’ Babafemi stated.

NDLEA Arrests 2 Fugitive Drug Kingpins, Nabs 2 Others For Swallowing 175 Heroin Wraps

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has successfully detained two wanted leaders of transnational criminal organizations, while also capturing two additional individuals who ingested a combined total of 175 wraps of heroin. This achievement follows weeks of intelligence-driven operations both within Nigeria and abroad. According to a statement by NDLEA spokesperson Mr. Femi Babafemi in Abuja on Sunday, the apprehension of these suspected drug lords occurred in conjunction with the interception of cocaine and heroin consignments. These drugs, concealed within the bodies of two traffickers destined for Paris, France, and Doha, Qatar, were seized by NDLEA officers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. Furthermore, operatives at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, managed to detain Hakeem Salami on October 10. Salami is the ringleader of the “Tajudeen Babatunde Abioye Transnational Criminal Organization,” which deals in multiple narcotics, including Cocaine, Heroin, Methamphetamine, and Ephedrine, trafficking them between Nigeria, Brazil, Ghana, South Africa, Mozambique, and Europe. Salami had fled to South Africa after one of his syndicate members, Suleiman Oba, was arrested at the Lagos airport on August 25 for attempting to export 25.10 kgs of ephedrine to South Africa. Salami was eventually located and apprehended through collaboration with South African authorities and other intelligence sources. Some of his luxury vehicles were confiscated, and his residence in Surulere, Lagos, was sealed. Other members of the cartel already in custody include Suleiman and Godwin Edet Mathew. In a statement, Salami claimed to have previously engaged in the importation of building materials from China to Nigeria and had sold gold in South Africa before venturing into the illegal drug trade about two years ago. Additionally, the head of another cartel, Ikechukwu Okafor (known as Jantu), and his wife, Ifeyinwa Okafor, were apprehended on October 5 when NDLEA operatives raided their hideout in the Okota area of Lagos. During the operation, 27.566 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in a blue box and two sacks, intended for export to Europe and Asia, were seized. Their Lexus RX350 with the registration ABJ 512 AY was also impounded during the operation. The arrests followed several weeks of intelligence gathering about the criminal network. At the Abuja airport, on October 6, operatives arrested a suspected drug trafficker, Nwofor Ejiogu, 45, during the outward clearance of a Qatar Airways flight to Doha. After a body scan revealed he had ingested cocaine, he was placed under observation, during which he excreted 75 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.653 kgs. At the time of his arrest, Nwofor offered to bribe an NDLEA officer with $3,000 in an attempt to secure his release. On October 7, another trafficker, Nwufo Charles, 45, was arrested while attempting to board a Lufthansa Airlines flight to Paris, France via Frankfurt, Germany. After being scanned and taken into a recovery room, he excreted 96 wraps of heroin he had ingested, with a total weight of 1.413 kgs.