Nigerian businessman escapes death , undergoes surgery to remove 81 cocaine pellets from stomach

A 59-year-old Nigerian businessman, Chijioke Igbokwe, has undergone a surgical procedure to remove 57 out of 81 cocaine pellets that were lodged in his stomach after reportedly ingesting the illegal substance in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Igbokwe’s harrowing ordeal unfolded over seven days, nearly resulting in death.

The suspect was apprehended by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on January 26, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, after his arrival on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Authorities conducted a body scan, which confirmed the presence of illicit drugs.

In a statement released by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, it was disclosed that Igbokwe, a cloth trader based in Lagos, had traveled to Addis Ababa on January 22. There, he ingested the 81 cocaine pellets, intending to transport them to Beirut, Lebanon, for a $3,000 delivery fee.

“Upon his arrival in Beirut, he said he was refused entry because he had less than $2,000, the amount required to grant him entry. He was then deported to Addis Ababa where he attempted excreting the illicit drugs but could not. He thereafter proceeded to Lagos on Saturday 25th January with the consignment in his bowel. He was however arrested upon his arrival at the Lagos airport by NDLEA officers on 26th January.

“After five days under excretion observation, he could only expel 24 pellets following initial medical intervention at the Agency’s medical facility and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja.

“With the clock ticking for him and the complication of other underlining medical conditions, the suspect was eventually admitted at the tertiary facility where he had to undergo exploratory laparotomy to extract the remaining 57 wraps of cocaine stuck in his stomach after his wife and brother endorsed the necessary consent forms on Thursday 30th January.

“In all, a total of 81 pellets of the Class A drug with a gross weight of 1.943 kilograms were recovered from his stomach.”

In a separate operation on January 29, NDLEA operatives intercepted a shipment of 2,000 kilograms of “Ghanaian Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, at Lekki beach in Lagos. The suspects, Sunday Awoyede and Christopher Cletus, were arrested while allegedly loading the drugs into a truck. Additionally, Lawal Idris Olasunkanmi was detained the same day in Mushin with 55 kilograms of the cannabis.

The suspects, as well as the illicit substances and truck, were seized by NDLEA authorities.