A fresh attempt by Brazil-based drug cartels to smuggle substantial quantities of Cocaine into Nigeria through Abuja and Lagos Airports by concealing the Class – A illicit substance in tea bags have again been thwarted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi said, in a statement on Sunday that, at least, four traffickers involved in the attempts to import and export illicit drugs through the country last week are now in the custody of the Agency.
One of them, Pascal Ekene Okolo was arrested during an inward clearance of a Qatar Airways flight from Sao Paulo via Doha at the arrival hall of the NAIA on Sunday 17th April.
Okolo who claimed to be in the wine business in Brazil was arrested with a travelling bag containing different medicinal tea bags, which were used to conceal 4.1kilograms of cocaine.
The same day, a Canada-based Nigerian, Anigo Christian Godspower was intercepted at the D-Arrival Hall of the Lagos Airport, during an inward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways from Sao Paulo via Doha to Lagos with two blocks of Cocaine with a total weight of 2.10kg.
The suspect claimed he operated an unregistered Bureau De Change business before delving into the illicit drug trade.
The bid by another cartel to export 950grams of Heroin concealed in the soles of ladies’ footwears through the cargo shed of the Lagos Airport was equally foiled by anti-narcotic officers who have so far arrested two suspects linked to the crime. Those arrested between the 16th and 17th of April in connection with the attempt to export the drug to Monrovia, Liberia include Idokoja Solomon Chukwurah and Patrick John Tochukwu.