Drug Smuggling Attempt Thwarted: India-Bound Passenger Vomits and Excretes 80 Wraps of Cocaine at Lagos Airport
Operatives from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) apprehended a passenger bound for Delhi, India, Freeman Charles Ogbonna, at the screening point of terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos. Ogbonna had ingested 80 wraps of cocaine.
According to Femi Babafemi, the command’s spokesperson, Ogbonna was arrested on Sunday, March 31st, while attempting to board a flight to Delhi, India via Doha on Qatar Airways. He possessed a Liberian international passport under the name Carr Bismark. Following a body scan, which tested positive for ingestion of illicit drugs, Ogbonna’s real identity was revealed. Subsequently, he was placed under NDLEA observation, where he began to manifest signs of discomfort. He eventually vomited and excreted a total of 80 wraps of cocaine, weighing 889 grams, over four days.
Ogbonna confessed that he was recruited into drug trafficking by a relative and was promised N300,000 upon successful delivery of the consignment in India.
In another incident, NDLEA officers intercepted a drug mule, Imran Taofeek Olalekan, at Gate C departure of terminal 1, traveling to Oman with check-in luggage and a backpack. Upon a thorough search, a false bottom concealment of drugs was discovered in the check-in luggage and the walls of the backpack.
Accompanying Taofeek was Ishola Isiaka Olalekan, who was identified as the recruiter. Both individuals had charms in their possession, with Taofeek claiming he procured his from an ‘Alfa’ in Ibadan, Oyo state, to ensure he wasn’t caught during the trip. Ishola claimed he procured the charms for N70,000.
