The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended a businesswoman, Okolonkwo Ebere Theresa, for attempting to traffic illicit drugs through Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos State.
Ebere was taken into custody on Sunday, September 14, after Aviation Security Officers of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and NDLEA operatives intercepted her at the Terminal 2 screening point while preparing to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha.
However, a search revealed two large parcels of white crystalline substance, concealed in her underwear butt pad, which later tested positive for methamphetamine, weighing 1.40 kilograms.
In a statement released on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said Ebere confessed during interrogation that she deals in second-hand clothes and runs a Point of Sale (POS) business in Enugu before being recruited into drug trafficking.
The statement read, “After a thorough search, two big parcels of white crystalline substance that later tested positive for methamphetamine with a gross weight of 1.40 kilograms were recovered from her butt pad underwear.
“During a preliminary interview with Ebere, she claimed she trades in used clothing and also operates a POS business in Enugu, where she was recruited into the illicit drug business.
“At the NAHCO export shed of the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives on Monday, 15th September, intercepted a consignment of food items used to conceal 40 wraps of methamphetamine with a total weight of 2.30 kilograms heading to Hong Kong via Turkish Airlines.
“A 59-year-old suspect, Umelo Ifeanyi Venatus, who presented the consignment as part of a consolidated cargo, has been taken into custody.”
According to NDLEA, it intercepted another consignment of illicit drugs destined for Europe, authorities said.
The seizure occurred on Thursday, September 18, at a courier company in Lagos. During a thorough inspection, operatives discovered 257 grams of cocaine concealed inside seven phone chargers bound for New Zealand, the agency said.
In a separate operation in Adamawa State, NDLEA said its officers recovered a total of 233,800 tramadol pills across three raids, arresting two suspects in the process.
NDLEA spokesperson Babafemi explained that 195,600 tramadol pills were recovered from an abandoned Toyota Sienna in Mayo Belwa, Yola South, on Wednesday, September 17.
In a related raid, a suspect identified as Rita Zira was apprehended in the Jambutu area of Jimeta, where officers found 27,900 tramadol pills hidden in her bedroom.
The agency has reiterated its commitment to disrupting drug trafficking networks and ensuring that illicit substances do not reach the streets or overseas markets.
“In Edo state, two cannabis farms on 4.532025 hectares located at Atororo forest in Owan West LGA, with an estimated yield of 11,330.0625kg, were on Wednesday, 17th September, destroyed by NDLEA officers who also recovered eleven bags of processed skunk and seeds weighing 148kg,” Babafemi said.
“Suspects arrested at the plantations include: Mathew Onoja, 56; Moses Thomas Male, 18; and Friday Uchenjin, 38.”
