The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Murtala Muhammad Airport, Lagos state, has apprehended four drug couriers carrying about 8.8kg of narcotics to different countries.
One of the suspects, Aniebue Nnamma, was said to have inserted eleven wraps of cocaine weighing 450g in his anus.
The second suspect, Nzube Chukwidi, was travelling on a Ghanaian passport with the name Sokpe Zubbye, with an ingested wrap of 955g of cocaine.
While Nnamma and Chukwudi were both travelling to China, the third suspect, Ugwuezumba Arinze, a trader at Alaba International Market, was enroute Indonesia with an ingested 2.130kg of methamphetamine.
The fourth suspect, Obinna Obi, an aluminum fabricator in Umuahia, had in his possession 5.2kg of indian hemp, and was heading for Doha, Qatar.
Indonesia and China are known to give the death penalty to drug traffickers, and have recently executed some Nigerians in their country.
The suspects blamed the economic challenges of the country for their involvement in the trade, saying that the financial gains far outweighed the consequences of their actions, which is why they got involved despite knowing their activities carries a death penalty in these countries.
Chairman of NDLEA, Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdullah,(retd), said that drug couriers must see beyond financial benefits rather than put their lives on the line.
Abdallah also assured that the agency’s men would remain dedicated to the apprehension of drug traffickers at all entry and exit points.