The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 101 parcels of cocaine concealed in eight children duvets at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
Its spokesman Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, said the illicit drug was brought into the country by a 52-year-old Brazilian returnee, Akudirinwa Hilary Uchenna who hails from Oru East Local Government area of Imo state.
According to the statement, the suspect was arrested on Saturday 9th April at the D-Arrival Hall of the Lagos airport upon his return from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Doha aboard Qatar Airline flight while the 101 parcels of the class A drug with a gross weight of 13.2 kilogram were recovered from his only check-in bag.
Babafemi said during preliminary interview, Uchenna who claimed to be a carpenter confessed that he was to be paid N5million for trafficking the drug after successfully delivering the consignment in Lagos.
The statement reads: “In a related development, big pellets of skunk concealed in detergent containers have been intercepted at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, AIIA, Enugu. A 37-year-old South African returnee, Ezekwesili Afamefune brought in the consignment weighing 730grams aboard Ethiopian Airline flight from Johannesburg, South Africa via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ezekwesili is from Awka south local government area of Anambra state.