By correspondent.
A Nigerian businessman, Ezeokoli Sylva, was apprehended by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, for smuggling 700 grams of cocaine hidden in his stomach.
The 59-year-old suspect, who had been living in Brazil for 35 years, was arrested on Friday, November 29, 2024, upon his arrival from São Paulo via an Ethiopian Airlines flight. NDLEA .
The NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi,confirmed the arrest in a statement released on Sunday, detailing that Sylva was intercepted at the E-Arrival hall following a body scan.
“When he was taken for body scan, the result confirmed that the suspect had foreign objects concealed in his stomach. As a result, he was placed under excretion observation during which he expelled 29 wraps of substances that tested positive to cocaine weighing 700 grams,” Babafemi explained.
In his confession, Sylva claimed to operate an African store in Brazil, selling provisions, shoes, and clothes.
“He added that he bought the illicit consignment in São Paulo to resell in Nigeria with a view to raising substantial capital to boost his business,” Babafemi said.
Other Drug Interceptions:
In a related operation, NDLEA officers from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) intercepted two consignments destined for the United Kingdom via a Lagos courier service on Tuesday, November 26.
“While the cocaine weighing 200 grams was concealed in local fabrics, 40 ampoules of pentazocine injection weighing 110 grams were hidden in cartons,” Babafemi revealed.
He added that in Kano, on Thursday, November 28, NDLEA operatives arrested three suspects: Jamilu Adamu, 38; Umar Musa, 32; and Bunu Ali, 27.
According to him,they were caught with 2,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection and over 3 million pills of Exol-5 at Gadar Tamburawa along Zaria Road.
He further disclosed that un Lagos, on the same day, NDLEA agents seized 2,120 kilograms of “Ghanaian Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, at Ilesan Beach where one suspect, Onibogi Muftau, was arrested, and four vehicles intended to transport the shipment were recovered.
“This came on the heels of the seizure of 472 kilograms of the same psychoactive substance at Idi-Iroko, Imeko area of Ogun State on Monday, November 25,” Babafemi added.
In Edo State, an intelligence-led raid on Thursday, November 28, resulted in the arrest of two suspects, Monday Onyenemue, 60, and Evans Omogiede, 42. NDLEA agents confiscated 185.6 kilograms of cannabis and a Toyota Previa bus marked BEN 06XL during the operation on Ukuwague Street, Benin City.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
