Two traffickers were arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, having swallowed illicit drugs weighing up to 2.48kg.
The names of the suspects were given by the Lagos Airport commander of the agency, Hamza Umar as Dickson Daniel Chukwu, 24, and Joseph Okeke Chukwunike, 30.
Hamza said, “While Dickson arrived on a KLM flight from Trinidad and Tobago where he had ingested 980g of cocaine while on transit from Brazil, Okeke has swallowed 1.170kg of cocaine and 335g of heroin and was about to board a Cameroon Airlines flight for Cameroon.”
Dickson reportedly claimed he had gotten admission to study in Trinidad and Tobago at the University of Southern Carribean. He had been working for 5 months, but his savings weren’t enough.
“I called a friend in Brazil to help me with $2000. He wanted me to come to Brazil from Lagos and promised him $3800. He handled all my travel arrangements. When I got to Brazil on transit, he gave me the drugs and assured me all would be fine. I swallowed the drugs because of my education. I could not swallow everything so I left some wraps behind.”
Okeke, an importer of automobile parts, said he was under pressure because his traditional wedding was on 28th December 2012 and he had recently been duped of N6.5m by a friend.
“I gave him money to buy goods for me and I’ve not seen him ever since. His number is switched off. I’ve tried my best to recover from the loss, but I’ve been unable to. That’s why I went into this. I was instructed to go to Cameroun on my first trip. I pray that my spouse is able to forgive me.”
The Chairman of the agency, Ahmadu Giade, said the agency keeps uncovering new tricks adopted by traffickers to avoid being caught.
“Drug traffickers are full of surprises, but we’re prepared to counter their plans and nip their plans in the bud.”
The spokesperson of the agency, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said the suspects would soon be charged to court.