By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Reporter
─ NDLEA Intercepts 2,000kg Skunk from Ghana at Lagos Beach
A DANGEROUS drug trafficking operation nearly turned fatal for a 59-year-old businessman, Chijioke Nnanna Igbokwe, after he ingested 81 wraps of cocaine in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
After seven days of carrying the illicit substance in his stomach, complications arose, forcing medical intervention to save his life.
Igbokwe was arrested by National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos during inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines passengers on 26 January 2025.
A body scan confirmed the presence of illicit drugs in his system, leading to immediate custody for excretion observation.
Investigations revealed that he left Lagos for Addis Ababa on 22 January, where he ingested the 81 pellets the next day before boarding a flight to Beirut, Lebanon, to deliver the consignment for a fee of $3,000.
Lebanese authorities, however, denied him entry for failing to meet the minimum financial requirement of $2,000, leading to his deportation back to Addis Ababa.
Struggling to excrete the drugs, he returned to Lagos on 25 January, where NDLEA officers apprehended him upon arrival.
Over five days under NDLEA observation, he managed to expel only 24 pellets, despite medical intervention at the agency’s facility and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).
With the remaining 57 wraps still lodged in his system and his condition deteriorating, doctors at LASUTH performed an exploratory laparotomy after his wife and brother signed consent forms on 30 January. In total, authorities recovered 1.943kg of cocaine from his stomach.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Lagos intercepted a 2,000kg shipment of Ghanaian Loud, a potent cannabis strain from Ghana, at Lekki beach on 29 January.
Two suspects, Sunday Awoyede and Christopher Cletus, were arrested while loading the consignment onto a truck, which was also seized.
Another suspect, Lawal Idris Olasunkanmi, was caught the same day with 55kg of skunk during a raid in Mushin, Lagos.
The NDLEA command said it is intensifying the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through sensitisation lectures and advocacy visits to schools, workplaces, religious centres, and traditional rulers across Nigeria.
The agency adds that educational institutions such as Grand Light Model School in Akwa Ibom, Community Grammar School in Oyo, and Federal Government College in Sokoto participated in the awareness sessions.
Also the NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended MMIA officers for their vigilance and professionalism in handling Igbokwe’s case.
He also praised the Lagos command for preventing the skunk shipment from entering the country and acknowledged the continued efforts of NDLEA officers nationwide in combating drug trafficking and abuse.
