The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted two suspected drug traffickers attempting to smuggle heroin into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos and the Port Harcourt International Airport in Rivers State, excreting a total of 125 wraps of heroin.
According to an NDLEA statement on Sunday, officers at the Port Harcourt airport arrested Onyekwonike Elochuckwu Sylvanus, who also carried a Sierra Leonean passport under the name Kargbo Mohamed Foday.
The 30-year-old suspect was caught while arriving on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha, routed through Abuja to Port Harcourt.
NDLEA operatives discovered he had ingested illicit drugs, and during observation, he excreted 62 wraps of heroin, weighing 1.348 kilograms.
“He was subsequently taken for body scan which confirmed he ingested illicit drugs and thereafter placed under excretion observation during which he expelled a total of 62 wraps of heroin in five excretions, weighing 1.348 kilograms.
Investigation reveals Onyekwonike Elochuckwu Sylvanus (alias Kargbo Mohamed Foday) alternates his two identities for different drug trafficking missions between Thailand, Pakistan, Iran and West African countries. He claimed to have gone full time into the illicit drug trade in 2017 when his clothing and shoe business went down,” the agency stated.
Heroin arrest at Lagos airport
A separate operation at the Lagos airport led to the arrest of James Herbert Chinoso, 48, who arrived from Madagascar via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
A body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs, leading to the excretion of 63 wraps of heroin.
“After a body scan confirmed illicit drug in his system, he was placed under excretion observation during which he ingested 63 wraps of heroin with a total weight of 909 grams,” the agency stated.
NDLEA disclosed that Chinoso had left Lagos for Madagascar on January 26 and returned after a week. He claimed he turned to drug trafficking after his phone accessories business in Liberia collapsed.
More insights
The anti-narcotics agency also intercepted two parcels containing 2.82 kilograms of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the U.S., at a courier company in Lagos.
- Another operation at a different logistics firm led to the seizure of 80 ampoules of pentazocine injection (225 grams) heading to Canada.
- In Kano, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Usaini Salisu and Yahaya Mu’azu, with 15,396 pills of tramadol hidden in a gas cylinder. A female suspect, Choima Okeke, 35, was also arrested in the Sabon Gari area with 15 kilograms of cannabis.
- In Kogi State, officers intercepted 12,800 pills of tramadol 250mg along the Kabba-Obajana highway, arresting a suspect, Salisu Basiru. Another suspect, Rufai Hassan, was caught with 65 parcels of Colorado, weighing 1.6 kilograms, destined for Jigawa State.
