A 59-year-old man has been detained at Nigeria’s Lagos Airport after attempting to smuggle 81 cocaine pellets internally
A man has been arrested at Nigeria’s Lagos Airport for attempting to smuggle 81 cocaine pellets in his stomach, according to officials. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) detained Chijioke Igbokwe, 59, after a body scan revealed the illicit substances, the agency said on Sunday.
The arrest took place on January 26 during the inbound passenger clearance for an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Igbokwe was placed under observation at the agency’s medical facility.
“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,” NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said.
Due to complications, doctors were forced to carry out a diagnostic laparotomy to extract the remaining 57 packages from Igbokwe. In total, 1.943kg of cocaine was removed from his body.
Investigations revealed that Igbokwe, who claims to be a clothing trader at Arena in Oshodi, Lagos, departed the city on January 22 for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. There, he ingested the 81 wraps of cocaine on January 23 before boarding a flight to Beirut, Lebanon, to deliver the illicit consignment for a fee of $3,000.
Upon arrival in Beirut, he was denied entry due to insufficient funds and was deported back to Addis Ababa. After failing to excrete the drugs, he returned to Lagos on January 25, where he was arrested the following day.
The chairman of the NDLEA, retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, commended the officers involved in the case and warned individuals involved in drug trafficking that they are endangering their own lives and the lives of others.
In 2024, the NDLEA arrested 18,500 suspected drug traffickers and seized 2.6 million kilograms of illicit drugs.
Businessman undergoes surgery to expel 81 wraps of cocaine stuck in his stomach
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