Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a businessman, Chijioke Nnanna Igbokwe for excreting 81 pellets of cocaine after seven days of ingesting the illicit substance in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Igbokwe, 59, in a near death experience was made to undergo a surgery (exploratory laparotomy) after which he discharged 57 out of the 81 pellets stuck in his stomach.
This was disclosed in a statement made available to Thelensng by the Director, Media & Advocacy of NDLEA, Mr. Femi Babafemi on Sunday.
Babafemi revealed that Igbokwe was arrested by operatives of the anti-narcotics agency at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) during the inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight on Sunday, January 26, 2025 – and 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,” he stated.
In another operation, NDLEA operatives in Lagos on Wednesday, January 29, intercepted a consignment of 2,000 kilograms of Ghanaian Loud, a strain of cannabis produced in Ghana, at Lekki beach.
The seizure was made while the two (2) suspects involved, Sunday Awoyede and Christopher Cletus, were attempting to load them into a truck.
The spokesperson disclosed that the suspects, the skunk shipment and the van were immediately taken into custody, and another suspect, Lawal Idris Olasunkanmi was also apprehended same day with 55kg skunk during a raid at his base in Mushin area of Lagos.
Similarly, the Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation lectures and advocacy visits in worship centres, schools, workplaces, palaces of traditional rulers and communities all through the past week.
The activities include: WADA sensitisation lecture to students and staff of Grand Light Model School, Ata Udosung, Akwa Ibom; Community Grammar School, Iganna, Iwajowa LGA, Oyo State and Ebute Afuye Primary School, Epe, Lagos State.
Others are Akwakuma Girls Secondary School, Owerri, Imo State; and Federal Government College, Kebbe, Sokoto State, while the Kogi State Command of the Agency paid a WADA advocacy visit to Attah of Igala, HRH Mathew Opaluwa Oguche at his palace in Idah, to mention a few.
Reacting to the arrests and seizures, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa commended the officers and men of MMIA Strategic Command for their vigilance and professionalism in handling Chijioke Igbokwe’s case.
Marwa warned those involved in the illicit drug trade that they are not only destroying the lives of others, but equally putting their own lives at great risk.
The NDLEA boss also applauded the Lagos State Strategic Command for blocking the huge consignment of skunk from coming into the country.
He further recognised the concerted efforts of their compatriots in all the commands across the country for intensifying the WADA social advocacy lectures and sensitisation activities to create a balance in drug supply and demand reduction efforts of the agency .
