The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 38-year-old businesswoman attempting to smuggle 7.5 kilograms of cocaine to Beijing, China, after operatives uncovered the illicit consignment concealed inside a professionally crafted false bottom of her suitcase at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The Agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the arrest on Sunday, describing it as one of several major operations that also led to the seizure of illicit drugs worth over ₦12.3 billion and the dismantling of a criminal syndicate that secretly plants narcotics in the luggage of unsuspecting interstate passengers.
According to Babafemi, the suspect, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, was intercepted on Sunday, June 21, at the departure hall of Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport while preparing to board a Qatar Airways flight to Beijing.
He said the arrest followed credible intelligence, prompting NDLEA operatives to subject her checked baggage to a detailed search.
“The search led to the discovery of four large parcels of cocaine concealed in a professionally constructed false compartment at the bottom of the luggage,” Babafemi said, adding that the cocaine weighed a total of 7.5 kilograms.
During interrogation, the suspect reportedly claimed she regularly travelled to China to purchase goods for resale in Nigeria.
Babafemi said the cocaine seizure formed part of a wider nationwide offensive by the anti-narcotics agency against international drug trafficking networks.
In another major breakthrough, NDLEA operatives intercepted 4,959 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a highly potent strain of cannabis, concealed in a 40-foot container at the Apapa Port in Lagos.
The illicit consignment, estimated to have a street value of ₦12.397 billion, was recovered after operatives tracked the shipment for more than four weeks from Toronto, Canada, through Montreal and Morocco before its arrival in Nigeria.
The spokesman also revealed that NDLEA operatives uncovered a criminal syndicate that plants illicit drugs inside the luggage of unsuspecting passengers travelling by commercial buses.
Investigations, he said, began after officers intercepted a methamphetamine consignment concealed inside the luggage of a female passenger travelling from Nnewi to Abuja. Although the woman denied ownership of the package, follow-up operations led to the arrest of bus loaders, the driver and the alleged owner of the drugs.
Babafemi further disclosed that NDLEA arrested three suspected transnational traffickers after intercepting a truck conveying 558,900 pills of Tramadol 250mg hidden inside a specially fabricated compartment.
He added that several other suspects were arrested in separate operations across Lagos while transporting skunk and other illicit substances.
Commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised the successful interdictions and urged personnel across the country to sustain the momentum in both drug supply reduction and the Agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) enlightenment campaign.
