Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have nabbed at least 30 suspects in connection with seizures of N4 billion worth cocaine in Lagos.
The agency disclosed of an attempt by members of an international drug syndicate that operates between Brazil, Ethiopia and Nigeria to smuggle into Lagos a total of 845 wraps of cocaine weighing 18.72 kilograms, but was thwarted and the consignments recovered at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja.
This was contained in a statement made available to Blueprint by director of media and advocacy, Femi Babafemi, who stated that the drug consignments worth N4,492,800,000 billion in street value were recovered from two lavatories of an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft during the post landing cleaning of the cabin of flight ET900 from Addis Ababa to Lagos October 29, 2024.
“The illicit drug consignments were wrapped in nine polythene bags and hidden in the waste collectors in the two rear lavatories of the aircraft, from where they were recovered after the MMIA Strategic Command of NDLEA was alerted about the strange objects.
“No fewer than 30 suspects have so far been grilled in connection with the seizure.”
“Investigations revealed that the seized drugs were conveyed from Brazil to Ethiopia through ingestion and excreted in Addis Ababa by a set of couriers while some other traffickers picked them up and attempted to smuggle them into Nigeria through the Lagos airport before their attempt was frustrated with the cooperation of the airline’s authorities and other airport stakeholders,” Babafemi said.
In the same vein, attempts by some drug trafficking syndicates to export 2.928kg cocaine, cannabis and tramadol 225mg concealed in body cream containers, and pieces of artwork to Australia, United Arab Emirate and United Kingdom through some courier companies in Lagos were also blocked by NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, DOGI, on October 29,
At the Apapa seaport in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on October 29, intercepted 754, 000 pills of tapentadol and acetaminophen 225mg worth N525, 000,000 in a targeted and watch-listed container from India during a joint examination with men of Customs Service and other security agencies.
