The Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA officers stationed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) in Abuja have intercepted parcels of a whitish substance which tested positive for cocaine.
The substances were packed in the soles of shoes and upon weighing was found to weigh 9.150kgs.
According to a statement released by the agency’s spokesman, Mr Mitchell Ofoyeju on Monday, the illegal substance was discovered in a shipment of shoes during screening of passengers boarding off the Turkish airline flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The statement said: “The discovery was made in a shipment of shoes during inward screening of passengers on a Turkish airline flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil. The cocaine was industrially concealed in the soles of new foot wears.
“It was the last arrest of 2016 at the Abuja airport with an estimated value of 3.8 million pounds.”
Following the detection of the illegal substance, a 34- year old suspect identified as Kingsley Okolo was arrested by the NDLEA operatives.
The arrested suspect who is a motorcycle parts dealer however confessed to smuggling the illegal substance into the country adding that he was offered a sum of N1 million to smuggle the drugs into the country.
The agency’s spokesman further added that “Investigation is on going and the suspect is cooperating with our team of undercover officers.”