Brazil returnee ‘excretes’ 92 wraps of cocaine at Abuja airport

The Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Okolie Nwabueze, a 53-year-old Brazil returnee, after he allegedly excreted 92 wraps of cocaine at Abuja airport. 

Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said the suspect was arrested on September 2 when he arrived on a Qatar Airline flight.

He said the suspect excreted the drugs after days under observation in the agency’s facility.

“A Brazilian returnee and father of two, Okolie Paulinus Nwabueze has been arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA, Abuja by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, for importing Ninety Two (92) wraps of cocaine, which he ingested and eventually excreted after days under observation in the Agency’s facility,” Babafemi said in a statement on Sunday.

“The 53-year-old trafficker who hails from Mmaku village, Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State was arrested on Friday 2nd September 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.”

The NDLEA said in a series of raids last week, its operatives confiscated several illegal drugs across the country.

“In the same vein, a 42-year-old man, Aliyu Bello Kwasare, has been arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, MAKIA, Kano, for attempting to export a consignment of new psychoactive substance, Akuskura, to Saudi Arabia,” the statement reads.

“At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos, no fewer than One Million and Ninety Nine Thousand (1,099,000) tablets of Tramadol 225mg have been seized through inter-agency collaboration between NDLEA and the Nigerian Customs.

“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.

“From other parts of the country, a 25-year-old pregnant woman, Haruna Favour, was arrested in Auchi, Edo state on Friday 9th Sept with 82 pinches of methamphetamine as well as various quantities of Loud, Arizona, Colorado variants of cannabis and codeine-based cough syrup.”