Two Arrested Drug Couriers Fight In Airport Over Drugs

NDLEA officers arrest woman with 2.150kg of cocaine
By Odita Sunday

OFFICERS of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos have arrested a female drug trafficker with 2.150 kilogrammes of cocaine. This was disclosed yesterday by the Agency's spokesman, Mr. Mitchel Ofoyeju.



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According to Ofoyeju, "the suspect, Airat Alade Ashake, 28, was arrested on December 27, 2007 during the screening of passengers on Ethiopian Airline flight to Bombay Indian en-route Addis Ababa".

The NDLEA spokesperson said: "The cocaine was carefully concealed inside plywood in a false bottom of her luggage. The use of plywood as false bottom is a new development. The arrest is a clear indication that officers are prepared to uncover new tricks employed by drug traffickers.

"The NDLEA has been faced with series of scandal over the years. Some officers of the agency have been fingered as men who collaborate with barons. The trend seems to have changed since the assumption of office of the current Chairman, Alhaji Giade, who has declared war on barons and their allies".

According to Ofoyeju, the suspect said that "her primary school classmate gave her the two bags at Ibadan to deliver in Indian for a fee of N200,000. Ashake, who was shedding tears during interrogation, explained how she was lured into accepting the drugs. Her words: "I met my school mate at the market. He asked me what I do for a living and I told him that I sell jewelry. He then collected my phone number. I asked of his number but he said his phone was stolen. He was the one always calling me until he asked me to meet him at a motor park in Ibadan where he gave me the two bags containing the drugs and promised to pay me N200,000".

The drug peddler, according to Ofoyeju, lives at No. 22 Dumare Square, Lagos Island with her mother. She is a native of Igbaja village in Ifelodun Local Government Area Kwara State.

Similarly, one Mufunnanya Charles Nwanbunwane, 28, said that his mother collected loan from her cooperative for his business but he decided to travel with the money. The suspect was arrested on December 26, 2007 during the inward clearance of Emirate Airline flight from Mumbai with 166 grammes of heroin inserted in his anus, said the NDLEA image-maker, Nwanbunwane hails from Achala village in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State.

Nwanbunwane told the anti-drug body that: "I left school at elementary III. I was in India for four years selling wristwatches to survive. On December 20, 2007 I went back to hustle in India but I came back after six days because I was afraid they will arrest me if my visa expires. My Tanzanian friend in India gave me the drugs that if I sell it in Nigeria, I can start a new life.

"Both cases are under investigation and will soon be charged to court," Ofoyeju said.