Businessman traveling to Paris caught smuggling 93 wraps of heroin at Abuja airport.

A 40-year-old businessman from Madrid, Spain, named Sherif Egbo Ally, has been apprehended by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. 

He was attempting to board an Air France flight to Paris, France when NDLEA operatives discovered that he had ingested illegal drugs.

The arrest took place on Saturday, October 14th, after a body scanner search revealed that Egbo had concealed wraps of illicit drugs in his stomach. Following this discovery, the suspect was taken to the exhibit recovery room, where he was placed under observation. During this time, he excreted 93 pellets of heroin, weighing a total of 2.222 kilograms, according to the NDLEA.

On Sunday, Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media and Advocacy for the NDLEA, announced that a suspect had been apprehended for drug trafficking. The suspect claimed to work at a chicken hatchery farm in Madrid, Spain. 

In another incident, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos seized a shipment of 500,000 pills of tramadol 225mg. The pills were falsely labeled as tapentadol and were hidden in 10 cartons. The cargo had been sent from India via Qatar Airways and was intended to be a transit cargo to Monrovia, Liberia.

The Agency's spokesperson, Babafemi, revealed that the partnership and real-time intelligence sharing mechanisms between NDLEA and its Liberian counterpart have led to a significant breakthrough. 

Additionally, the spokesperson announced several other seizures made by the Agency.

He said, “Attempt by an intending passenger to Muscat, Oman on Qatar Airways, Ngene Chinecherem Oscar, to export 11.100kgs of skunk and 600grams of tramadol concealed in foodstuffs through the Lagos airport was thwarted by NDLEA officers who arrested him and seized the illicit substances.

“In another operation, NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations, DOGI, attached to courier companies on Sunday 15th October intercepted 1kg methamphetamine concealed in containers of body cream going to New Zealand as well as another consignment of 2.5kgs cocaine and phenacetin hidden in walls of a carton heading to Saudi Arabia.

“Two more seizures: 112grams of Dimethyl Sulfone and 583grams of Cocaine and phenacetin were made at another courier company in Lagos on Wednesday 18th October. While the Dimethyl Sulfone was concealed in the hollow of a motor driving shaft going to New Zealand, the consignment of Cocaine and phenacetin was packed into a bottle of body cream heading to Saudi Arabia.

“In Imo State, operatives on Sunday 15th October intercepted a Mercedes Benz container truck marked ABN 418 YN parked in an isolated area along Owerri – Onitsha Expressway. A search of the abandoned truck led to the recovery of 168 bags of skunk weighing 1, 854 kilograms.

“Not less than 1,381.3kgs of the same substance were seized in four interdiction operations in parts of Edo State including: Ekpon community, Igueben LGA; Iguiye forest in Ovia North East LGA; Iruekpen, Ndokwa West where a suspect, Monday Samuel Nwocha was arrested and Egwalor village in Onwude LGA where the duo of Obune Prince and Chika Obi was arrested and their Audi 80 salon car marked BEN 406 CL loaded with cannabis sativa, recovered.

“In Kano State, an ex-convict, Aminu Suleiman, 46, was arrested along with Haruna Abdurrahaman, 41, and Ojo Joseph Esezobor, 34, at Gadar Tamburawa area of the state on Saturday 14th October while 106kgs of cannabis were recovered from them. Aminu was first arrested with 22kgs of cannabis on 3rd June 2022 and convicted by the court on 24th November 2022. Four other suspects: Inusa Fugu Ali, Yahaya Musa, Abba Audu, Ali Abubakar, and Bunu Kyari were also arrested at Gadar Tamburawa area of Kano on Monday 16th October for dealing in 75.3kgs of skunk.

“While operatives of the Zone J Command of the Agency seized 478kgs of cannabis in a forest in Ikere Ekiti on Friday 20th October, those of Ondo State Command recovered a total of 928kgs of the same substance in a bush by Shagari market, along Ifon-Owo express road, and Ibola camp, Ipele forest.

“In Borno State, a suspect, Sani Mohammed, 31, was arrested on Saturday 21st October with 182kgs of cannabis at Njimtilo, along Maiduguri – Damaturu road.”

*Paris-bound ‘businessman’ excretes 93 wraps of heroin at Abuja airport*

*- As NDLEA intercepts Cocaine, Meth consignments going to Saudi, Europe; seizes 4.8 tons of skunk in Imo, Edo, Ondo, Kano, Ekiti*

Read more at 👇https://t.co/v9ycJInf8G pic.twitter.com/fGcyGJEIQP

— NDLEA NIGERIA (@ndlea_nigeria) October 22, 2023

Babafemi also stated that the commands in all 36 states and the FCT have been actively conducting sensitization lectures on the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) in schools, communities, workplaces, and other locations.

In addition, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the officers and personnel of various commands including NAIA, MMIA, Imo, Ondo, Kano, Edo, Zone J Commands, and DOGI for their recent arrests and seizures.

Marwa urged them and their colleagues in all Agency formations to remain vigilant and intensify their efforts, especially due to the increased desperation of criminal networks to make money during the end.

#NDLEA

#BubaMarwa