Brazilian returnee brings back cocaine to Nigeria after 18-year absence

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a father of two, Okolie Nwabueze, for importing 92 wraps of cocaine.

The Brazilain returnee was said to have ingested the drugs which he eventually excreted after days under observation at the agency’s facility.

The NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, in a statement said the 53-year-old trafficker, who hails from Mmaku village, in the Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State, was arrested on September 2 upon his arrival on Qatar Airline flight enroute Brazil-Doha-Abuja.

“He claimed to have left Nigeria to Mozambique in 2004 and finally relocated to Brazil in 2017, where he obtained a residence permit before deciding to import the illicit substance for a $4,000 fee,” Babafemi said.

The agency also arrested a 42-year-old man, Aliyu Bello Kwasare, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, for attempting to export a consignment of new psychoactive substance, Akuskura, to Saudi Arabia.

Babafemi explained that the indigene of Kware LGA, Sokoto, who lives in Goron Dutse area of Kano, was arrested on September 5 during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airline flight to Riyadh.

The NDLEA spokesman also said that at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos, no fewer than1,099,00 tablets of Tramadol 225mg were seized through inter-agency collaboration between NDLEA and the Nigerian Customs.

He added, “The pharmaceutical opioids packed in 50 cartons weighing 2,058.90kg, were imported from Pakistan via Addis-Ababa on Ethiopian Airways. The consignment was concealed among other non-controlled pharmaceuticals.”

Babafemi also revealed that a freight agent, Aliyu Abubakar was arrested on September 9 at the NAHCO export shed of the MMIA, Lagos, for attempting to export a consignment of cannabis concealed inside bottles of body lotion.

The spokesman added that NDLEA arrested 25-year-old pregnant woman, Haruna Favour, in Auchi, Edo State on September 9 with 82 pinches of methamphetamine as well as various quantities of Loud, Arizona, Colorado variants of cannabis and codeine based cough syrup.

“In Gombe,119,000 tablets and capsules of tramadol, D5 and Exol5 were recovered from two drug dealers, Nasiru Abubakar and Umaru Bayero when NDLEA operatives raided their stores at the Gombe main market on September 6.

“In Kogi, a suspect, Paul Ali, 47, was arrested along Okene-Abuja highway with 1,404 bottles of Codeine based syrup weighing 190.94kg and 2,040 ampoules of pentazocine injection coming from Onitsha to Sokoto. A follow up operation in Sokoto also led to the arrest of the receiver of the consignment on September 6.” The statement added.

Babafemi said the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) commended the officers and men of the agency for the feat.