NDLEA Arrest Businessman Heading to Paris at Abuja Airport for Cocaine Ingestion

Orjinze excreted the drugs over several days while in custody following his arrest at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja.

According to a statement by NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi on Sunday, Orjinze, who also claims to be a professional footballer in Europe, was detained on May 21 during the outbound clearance for Air France flight AF 878.

According to the anti-narcotic agency, a body scan revealed he had ingested illicit substances, leading to his arrest. Over a period of three days, Orjinze excreted 1.603 kilograms of cocaine encapsulated in 111 pellets.

He purportedly operates in the maritime sector while seeking engagement with European football clubs.

In a related operation, NDLEA officers at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, dismantled a drug trafficking syndicate.

Four network members were arrested, and authorities seized 8 kilograms of methamphetamine and 7.6 kilograms of “Loud,” a synthetic cannabis strain imported from South Africa.

The operation commenced when an airport official was intercepted with two bags containing the illicit substances on May 21. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of two syndicate members, Chris Nwadozie and Chinedu Nwaosu, and another member working within the airport system on May 25.

According to the statement, additionally, at the NAHCO export shed of the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives arrested freight agent Sonubi Mariam Abiodun on May 22 for attempting to ship 2 kilograms of cocaine concealed in shea butter containers to the United Kingdom.

Elsewhere in Lagos, NDLEA officers apprehended Odumegwu Obijofor at Igbo Elerin, Ojo Local Government Area, for allegedly producing and distributing “skuchies,” a mixture of black currant and illicit drugs. Authorities recovered 2,480 liters of the new psychoactive substance from his clandestine factory.

In Cross River State, NDLEA said it arrested Ogar Emmanuel with 2.5 kilograms of cannabis at Ukpada Utugwan village, even as 290 kilograms of cannabis were seized from a warehouse belonging to another suspect, Usani Ikpi, who remains at large.

The harvest of arrests was also taken to Katsina State, where three suspects, Sa’adu Sule, Mukhtar Nura, and Hamza Nura, were arrested in Jabiri Funtua with 70 kilograms of cannabis.

The statement further said that NDLEA operatives in Abuja arrested five individuals during raids at Karu Abattoir, Jikwoyi, and Tora Bora hill, seizing 95.01 kilograms of cannabis and various opioids.

In Edo State, officers arrested a physically challenged drug dealer, Zekere Sufianu, in Auchi town, finding 751 grams of Loud, 178 grams of tramadol, and swinol pills in his possession.