Operatives of the National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested four intending pilgrims with plans to ingest 200 pellets of cocaine in their hotel rooms ahead of their Hajj trip to Saudi Arabia.
The Agency revealed this in a statement, signed by its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi on Thursday.
The NDLEA said the pellets of cocaine weighing 2.20 kilograms were found in their possession when its operatives stormed their rooms at an undisclosed hotel in Lagos, where they were lodged.
The suspects: Usman Kamorudeen, 31; Olasunkanmi Owolabi, 46; Fatai Yekini, 38; and a lady, Ayinla Kemi, 34 were scheduled to leave on a Wednesday, for the ongoing Hajj when they were arrested.
“One hundred wraps of the Class A substance were recovered from each of the two rooms bringing the total seizure to 200 wraps. Two suspects were to swallow 100 wraps each,” the Agency revealed.
While commending the NDLEA operatives, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen., Mohamed Marwa said the agency will continue to spread its dragnet to track, trace and apprehend criminal elements who may want to hide under pilgrimage to carry out their nefarious activities.
He said, “The Agency will work with our counterparts in Saudi Arabia to ensure that the designated recipients of seized illicit drug consignments in any part of Saudi Arabia are also traced and dealt with accordingly.
