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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended a 42-year-old Angolan businessman, Mbala Abuba, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) in Kano for attempting to smuggle 120 wraps of cocaine, which he had ingested, to Istanbul, Turkey.
Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media and Advocacy for the NDLEA, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday from Abuja.
He stated that Abuba, hailing from the Zaire province in Angola, was taken into custody on Tuesday, February 25, at the airport's screening point while he was about to board Egypt Air flight MS 880 to Istanbul via Cairo.
This came after a body scan confirmed that he had ingested the illegal substance.
Babafemi noted, "The suspect was subsequently placed under excretion observation, during which he expelled a total of 120 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.829 kilograms over seven excretions.
In his statement, Abuba claimed to be involved in the business of township delivery services in Angola before engaging in drug trafficking."
In a separate incident, NDLEA operatives thwarted an attempt by auto spare parts dealer, Okeke Ebuka, to ship two parcels containing 1.10kg of cocaine concealed in vehicle propellers to Angola.
Babafemi reported that the drugs were intended to be exported from the shed of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos. He mentioned that the suspect was arrested on Monday, February 25, following reliable intelligence.
Babafemi added, "During questioning, the suspect stated that he operates as a businessman selling auto parts in ASPANDA, Trade Fair Complex in the Ojo area of Lagos."
Additionally, Babafemi mentioned that the NDLEA disrupted another attempt by Ezechi Iyke to transport a significant quantity of cocaine weighing 5.40 kilograms to Owerri, Imo State.
Iyke was apprehended in his Toyota Sienna bus on Sunday, February 23, by operatives from a special NDLEA operations unit, after weeks of intelligence gathering and surveillance.
With unwavering determination, the agency's various commands and formations across the nation continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiatives, conducting sensitization activities in schools, places of worship, workplaces, and communities over the past week.
These efforts included WADA enlightenment lectures delivered to students and staff at Ansarudeen Junior Secondary School in Ojuelegba, Lagos; Loretto Girls Special Science School in Adazinnukwu, Anambra; and Tudun Murtala Special Primary School in Nasarawa LGA, Kano State, among others.
Babafemi quoted NDLEA Chairman Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (retd) as praising the officers and personnel from the agency's commands in Tin-can, Delta, Edo, Oyo, Kano, Osun, Borno, Zamfara, and Kwara for their successful arrests and seizures.
