Tochukwu Prosper Nzom, father of two has confessed that he willingly volunteered to assist some drug barons to traffic cocaine via his anus after he heard them discussing in a beer parlour.
He said he would have been paid $1,500 if he had succeeded in taking the cocaine to its final destination.
His words: “I was drinking with friends when I heard them talking about drugs. I actually volunteered to smuggle drugs because of my financial situation.
“They agreed to pay me $1,500 because it was only three wraps weighing 225 grammes. I am from a poor home.”
Nzom was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for inserting 225 grammes of cocaine into his anus.
The Agency’s spokesman, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said the suspect was to board an Air France flight to Paris at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos when he tested positive for narcotics.
“Two other suspects were also caught with 915 grammes and 1.225kg of cocaine from Brazil on an Emirates flight,” said Ofoyeju.
The NDLEA Commander at the Lagos Airport, Hamza Umar, gave the names of other suspects as Idehen Prince Henry and Ilemena Chinedu Peter.
Umar said: “Tochukwu who was going to Paris inserted 225 grammes in his anus. Two other suspects coming from Brazil, Idehen Prince Henry ingested 56 wraps weighing 915 grammes and Ilemena Chinedu Peter concealed 1.225kg of cocaine. The total weight of the drugs seized from the suspects is 2.365kg.”
Ilemena also said he too requested to smuggle drugs because of financial hardship.
IIemena said: “I’m married to a Brazilian lady and we have a child. I work as a sales boy in a supermarket. I dropped out of school in junior secondary class 3. I overheard some of my friends discussing about drugs and I indicated interest. That was how it started. The drug was packed in a bag for me and they promised to pay me 2,500 dollars. I’m so sad, disappointed and ashamed of myself.”
Idehen, who has lived in Brazil for about a decade, said he made a costly mistake.
He said: “I did not know what came over me. I have been a hard working person since my childhood. My wife and three children are in Benin while I struggle in Brazil as the bread winner. My son gained admission into the University and he is very brilliant. I needed to pay for his tuition and other expenses. I would have made 12,000 dollars from the drug deal.”