The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 59-year-old Nigerian businessman, Sylva Ezeokoli, for allegedly smuggling 700 grams of cocaine concealed in his stomach.
Ezeokoli was apprehended on Friday at the E-Arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos. He had returned aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from São Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa after spending 35 years in Brazil.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said in a statement on Sunday that a body scan revealed foreign objects in Ezeokoli’s stomach. “He was placed under excretion observation, during which he expelled 29 wraps of substances that tested positive for cocaine, weighing 700 grams,” Babafemi said.
The suspect confessed he had planned to sell the drugs in Nigeria to expand his business. Babafemi added, “In his statement, the suspect claimed he operates an African store in Brazil where he sells provisions, shoes, and clothes. He added that he bought the illicit consignment in São Paulo to resell in Nigeria to raise substantial capital to boost his business.”
The NDLEA also intercepted two consignments containing cocaine and pentazocine injection at a courier company in Lagos on November 26. Babafemi said, “The cocaine weighing 200 grams was hidden in local fabrics, while 40 ampoules of pentazocine injection weighing 110 grams were concealed in cartons.”
In Lagos, operatives seized 220 kilograms of a potent cannabis strain known as Ghanaian Loud at Ilesan Beach on November 28. Babafemi disclosed that a suspect, Onibogi Muftau, was arrested, and four vehicles meant to transport the drugs were confiscated. Earlier in the week, 472 kilograms of the same substance were recovered at Idi-Iroko, Ogun State.
In Kano, three suspects, Jamilu Adamu (38), Umar Musa (32), and Bunu Ali (27), were arrested on November 28 at Gadar Tamburawa, Zaria Road, with 2,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection and over three million pills of exol-5.
In Edo State, a raid on Ukuwague Street, Benin City, on November 28 led to the arrest of Monday Onyenemue (60) and Evans Omogiede (42). NDLEA operatives recovered 185.6 kilograms of cannabis and a Toyota Previa bus used for transporting the drugs.
The NDLEA reiterated its commitment to curbing drug trafficking in Nigeria and urged the public to report suspicious activities.
