NDLEA arrests Brazilian returnee with ‘cocaine concealed in private part’

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has arrested Igwedum Uche Benson for allegedly trying to bring into the country cocaine concealed in his private part.

In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said Benson was on his way back to Nigeria from Brazil when he was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. 

He said the suspect had swallowed 50 wraps of cocaine, excreted 48 at Addis Ababa and thereafter excreted the remaining two in the restroom of the flight bound for Nigeria.

“A Brazilian returnee, Igwedum Uche Benson has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos with pellets of cocaine concealed in his private part,” the statement reads. 

“Igwedum was nabbed at the Lagos airport on Monday 20th June upon his arrival on Ethiopian Airlines from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Addis Ababa. Preliminary investigations reveal the suspect had swallowed 50 wraps of cocaine before departing Brazil and excreted 48 pellets in Addis Ababa where he handed them over to another person. 

“He however claimed he was unable to excrete the remaining two wraps at the hotel room in Addis Ababa before boarding his flight but later excreted them in the aircraft restroom during the flight from Ethiopia to Lagos.”

The agency said it also arrested two drug kingpins after weeks of investigation and tracking.

Meanwhile, one Alegbeleye Taiwo, a 21-year-old Dubai-bound passenger, was also said to have been caught with 40 ampoules of pentazocine injection. 

“In the same vein, after three weeks of painstaking investigation and tracking, operatives of the MMIA command of NDLEA on Saturday night, 25th June arrested a drug kingpin, Onyekachi Chukwuma Macdonald behind attempts to export 40 parcels of Methamphetamine popularly called Mkpuru Mmiri locally to London, United Kingdom through the NAHCO export shed of the Lagos airport,” the statement reads.

“Onyekachi was arrested at Manacola estate, Alakuko area of Lagos at the weekend, three weeks after his Mkpuru Mmiri consignment weighing 2.05kilograms was intercepted at the airport and his freight agent, Peter Christopher Anikan arrested on 7th June.

“Meanwhile, two kingpins behind the importation of two recent drug consignments from Canada concealed in vehicle containers through the Tincan seaport in Apapa, Lagos have been arrested by NDLEA operatives.

“One of them, Gboyega Ayoola Elegbeji was arrested at his house, 14 Bakare Street, Idi Araba, Lagos on Wednesday 22nd June, for importing a 40ft container TRHU7874497 containing 33 parcels of cannabis indica (Colorado) weighing 16.5kg.  

“The second suspect, Sunday Joe Oyebola, (aka Otunba) was arrested on Thursday 23rd June. He’s linked to the importation of a 40ft container MEDU4389887 containing four vehicles used to conceal 290 parcels weighing 145kg cannabis indica (Colorado) from Montreal, Canada. He had been on the run since March and had in the course of the investigation attempted to bribe officers with N10 million to influence the case.”

The NDLEA said the week-long raid also led to the seizure of a 2kg consignment of meth and 500,000 tablets of Tramadol intercepted in Imo and Lagos.