The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two businessmen and a Canada-based nurse at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, for cocaine trafficking and attempting to import and export synthetic cannabis, popularly known as “Loud.”
According to a report from News Diary newspaper, the Director of Media & Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, disclosed in a statement: “NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport intercepted a 26-year-old businessman, Iwuagwu Ikedi Victory, who arrived from Brazil via Addis Ababa during the inward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. A body scan revealed that he had ingested illicit drugs. After being placed under observation, he excreted a pellet of cocaine weighing 22 grams.”
Babafemi also reported the arrest of another businessman, Ihejirika, who was traveling to Thailand, where he claimed to be importing fish into Nigeria. He was apprehended while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Thailand via Addis Ababa.
Following a scan and test, he was found with parcels of cocaine. He later confessed that he was to be paid upon successful delivery of the drug parcel in Thailand, as he was in dire need of funds to support his fish business.
Meanwhile, a Canada-based Nigerian nurse, Usman Grace Khadijat Olami, was arrested by NDLEA officers at the Lagos airport during the inward clearance of Air France passengers arriving from Toronto, Canada, via Paris. A total of 70 parcels of “Loud,” weighing 35.70kg, were found in her possession after a routine search.
She claimed during an interview that she was in Nigeria to meet her boyfriend, with whom she had conspired to import the large consignment of the highly sought-after synthetic cannabis.
The agency has called on the public to avoid the importation and exportation of illicit drugs due to their adverse health effects. It assured the public that it has equipped itself with highly skilled personnel, advanced intelligence, and technology to combat such immoral practices.
