*jona:

NDLEA arrests two, recovers N81m worth of cocaine
Adelowo Oladipo, Lagos Updated: Tuesday 17-11-2009


Amhadu Giade,
(Chairman, NDLEA)Two clearing and forwarding agents are presently being quizzed by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos State, about the N81 million worth of cocaine found in a cargo which they had come to claim.

The agents whose names were given as Abdullahi Shaba, 42 and Salau Nurudeen Wale, were allegedly arrested on Tuesday, October 13, 2009, while attempting to clear the consignment with Air Waybill number 176-8457 3576.

[b]The cargo was said to have been imported from Brazil on an Emirate Cargo flight by Fuitful Investment Nig Limited.

The agency’s Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Ofoyeju Mitchell, told Crime and Security last week in Lagos that the achievement was made following the determination of the anti-drugs agency to go the all the way in its renewed fight against drug traffickers and their sponsors.

Mitchell stated that the Chairman of the NDLEA, Ahmodu Giade, had vowed to dislodge drug cartels in the country following recent discoveries of narcotics imported through the cargo section of the Lagos airport.

He stated that the latest was the discovery of 7.350 kg of cocaine industrially packed inside 26 pairs of garden shears and 60 trowels.

“The consignment with Air Waybill number 176-8457 3576, was imported from Brazil on an Emirate Cargo flight by Fuitful Investment Nig Limited at the Cargo Section of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos. Two clearing and forwarding agents, Abdullahi Shaba, 42 and Salau Nurudeen Wale have been arrested in connection with the consignment which was shipped by a Brazilian firm, Absoluta Trading.”

The estimated street value of the seized drug in Lagos, according to him, is N80.8 million.”

The agency’s head of public affairs further stated that Giade had earlier attributed the recent successes recorded to good foreign collaboration and commitment to the drug war. “The discovery was made possible through exchange of intelligence with the United Kingdom, under the Operation West Bridge. This certainly signifies the end of the road to drug barons because we have similar understanding with other countries. We shall continue to detect and seize their drugs notwithstanding the mode of concealment,” Giade declared.

Mitchell assured that the case would be thoroughly investigated with a view to making more arrests.

The Acting NDLEA Airport Commander, Ahhaji Idris Bello, explained that the drug was industrially concealed in the handles of the garden shears and trowels.

He also revealed that the handles of the garden equipments were practically broken before the drug was discovered.

The two clearing and forwarding agents arrested are presently assisting NDLEA operatives in further investigation.

Similarly, a 56-year-old grandmother has been arrested by operatives of the NDLEA at the Lagos airport for inserting cocaine in her private parts.

She allegedly inserted 20 wraps in her private parts and ingested 65 wraps. In all, she concealed a total of 85 wraps of substances that tested positive for cocaine weighing 999 grammes.

The suspect, Abiola Khadijat, residing at Musa Adewokun Street, Ojota Lagos, was arrested on October 7, 2009, at about 9 pm. and was to travel to Atlanta, United States when she tested positive to drug ingestion during screening of passengers on Delta Airline flight.

Abiola, an international trader said she was indebted and decided to smuggle narcotics. “A man I met in a popular eatery introduced me into the drug trade. I attempted suicide several times but I was encouraged. I used to go to London to buy clothes and jewelleries since 2004, but I lost everything. I have three daughters; the eldest who is 21 is a single parent like me. Now I am old and cannot work anywhere, no help from anywhere and I got frustrated. They said they will pay me when I get to the US,” she stated. [/b] Godday Ugweogbu, 31 was also arrested on his way from Brazil on October 8, 2009, with 93 wraps of substances that tested positive for cocaine in his stomach. He was caught during the screening of passengers on a South Africa Airline flight. Godday is married with three children and resides at Shino Adeyemi Street, Ilogbo Lagos. He travelled to Brazil in 2008 in search of greener pastures but ended up smuggling illicit drugs.

He also explained his ordeal in the flight, “I excreted three wraps in the flight, but for fear of arrest I washed them and swallowed them again. I have financial problem. I was stranded in Brazil. I decided to smuggle the drugs because I was promised N2.5 million,” Godday stated. He hails from Orlu in Imo State.


http://www.tribune.com.ng/17112009/tue/crime4.html