The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has announced the arrest of a Thailand returnee, Oguejiofor Nnaemeka Simon Peter, for importing 13.30kg of heroin, worth over N3.192 billion, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos.
NDLEA also stated that its operatives at three seaports intercepted large consignments of opioids with a combined monetary value N22.7 billion.
This was made known in a statement on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja.
The statement disclosed that Oguejiofor was arrested on Monday 7th October 2024 while attempting to smuggle illicit drug out of the airport.
The substances were concealed in six backpacks and then packed into two big suitcases.
According to the statement, the 29-year-old graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Anambra State, had left Thailand on 3rd October 2024 on a Qatar Airways flight and stopped over in Doha, Qatar, where he spent two days before heading to Lagos while his luggage was routed to Accra, Ghana, his original destination.
Narrating how Oguejiofor was arrested, the statement said that NDLEA officers intercepted him at the point of exit after the suspect had contacted the airline to reroute his luggage to Nigeria so that he can pick them up as rush bags in a bid to beat security checks.
The statement further explained that a search of the suspect’s two suitcases revealed three empty backpacks in each box with a large parcel of heroin neatly sewn to all the six backpacks, adding that the six parcels were subsequently recovered with a gross weight of 13.30kg.
In his statement, Oguejiofor claimed he was hired for a fee of $7,000 upon successful delivery of the parcels. He said he was to deliver two parcels in Lagos and the other four parcels in Accra, Ghana.
In a related development, NDLEA has announced that a total of 32,607,900 pills of tramadol worth over N12.5 billion and 1,451,994 bottles of codeine-based syrup with a street value of N10.1 billion were intercepted at the Lekki Deep Seaport, Apapa Seaport in Lagos and Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers State.
The anti-narcotic agency stated that the combined monetary value of the seized opioids is about N22.7 billion.
The illicit consignments were seized from containers watch-listed by NDLEA based on intelligence and processed for 100 percent joint examination with men of the Nigeria Customs and other security agencies at the three seaports between Monday 7th and Friday 11th October 2024.
In the same vein, NDLEA operatives in Anambra on Saturday 12th October 2024 arrested a suspect, Okelue Chidera, 29, with 50,000 tablets of tramadol 200mg at Upper Iweka, Onitsha.
Also, in Edo State, operatives raided a cannabis transit and loading point at Aviose, Owan West LGA, where 70 bags of the psychoactive substance weighing 1,050kg were recovered, while a suspect, Monday Akele, 38, was arrested on Friday 11th October 2024 in another raid at Owan Village, Ovia North East LGA where 110kg of same substance was seized.
Thailand returnee arrested with N3.1bn heroin at Lagos Airport