Businessman Arrested By NDLEA Undergoes Surgery To Remove 81 Cocaine Wraps

…As NDLEA Intercepts 2,000kg Skunk Coming From Ghana At Lagos Beach

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a businessman at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, who had ingested 81 wraps of cocaine for delivery to Beirut, Lebanon.

In a statement on Sunday by the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, Chijioke Nnanna Igbokwe’s was arrested during the inward clearance of passengers on the Ethiopian Airlines flight on January 26, 2025.

Chijoke was placed under excretion observation at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja for five days where he was only able to excrete 24 pellets.

Following a near-death experience, the 59-year-old was taken in for surgery (exploratory laparotomy) to remove 54 pellets of cocaine still stuck in his stomach after seven days of ingesting the illicit substance in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The statement reads: “Igbokwe was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, during the inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight on Sunday 26th January 2025. He was promptly taken for body scan, which revealed illicit drugs in his system.

“He was soon after taken into NDLEA custody for excretion observation.

“Investigation revealed that Igbokwe who claims to be into cloth business at Arena, Oshodi area of Lagos, departed Lagos on 22nd January to Addis Ababa where he ingested the 81 wraps of cocaine the following day 23rd January and boarded a flight to Beirut, Lebanon to deliver the illicit consignment for a fee of $3,000.

“Upon his arrival in Beirut, he said he was refused entry because he had less than $2,000, the amount required to grant him entry. He was then deported to Addis Ababa where he attempted excreting the illicit drugs but could not. He thereafter proceeded to Lagos on Saturday 25th January with the consignment in his bowel.

“He was however arrested upon his arrival at the Lagos airport by NDLEA officers on 26th January.

“After five days under excretion observation, he could only expel 24 pellets following initial medical intervention at the Agency’s medical facility and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja.

“With the clock ticking for him and the complication of other underlining medical conditions, the suspect was eventually admitted at the tertiary facility where he had to undergo exploratory laparotomy to extract the remaining 57 wraps of cocaine stuck in his stomach after his wife and brother endorsed the necessary consent forms on Thursday 30th January.

“In all, a total of 81 pellets of the Class A drug with a gross weight of 1.943 kilograms were recovered from his stomach.”

In a related occurrence, on January 29, 2025, the agency’s operatives in Lagos stopped a shipment of 2,000 kilograms of Ghanaian Loud, a cannabis strain grown in Ghana, at Lekki Beach and apprehended two suspects, Sunday Awoyede and Christopher Cletus who were attempting to load the consignment into a truck.

Another suspect, Lawal Idris Olasunkanmi, was also arrested the same day with 55kg skunk during a raid at his base in the Mushin area of Lagos.

While praising the officers and men of the MMIA Command for their vigilance and professionalism, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), warned those involved in illicit drug trade that they are not only destroying the lives of others but also putting their own lives in danger.

Businessman Arrested By NDLEA Undergoes Surgery To Remove 81 Cocaine Wraps is first published on The Whistler Newspaper