NDLEA nabs Iran-bound businessman for reportedly swallowing 53 cocaine pellets

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested 44-year-old businessman Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka at Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA) for allegedly attempting to smuggle 53 wraps of cocaine out of the country.

The arrest, disclosed in a Sunday statement by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, occurred as the suspect was about to board a Qatar Airways flight to Tehran, Iran, with a stopover in Doha.

Babafemi noted that the incident took place just under two weeks after NDLEA officers at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) apprehended another businessman, 60-year-old Chinedu Okigbo, who had ingested 65 cocaine pellets.

According to Babafemi, Chukwuebuka was taken into custody on Saturday, June 7. Following a body scan that indicated drug ingestion, he was placed under medical observation.

“This was during which he expelled 53 wraps of cocaine in six excretions with a total weight of 1.172kg,” Babafemi stated.

“The suspect claimed to have gone into the criminal trade two years ago, moving between the West African sub-region and Iran,” he added.

In a related development, NDLEA personnel at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted a man identified as Edobor Ambrose early Saturday, June 14. The Italy-bound passenger was boarding an Air France flight when security operatives flagged his luggage during a screening conducted in collaboration with Aviation Security officials from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

A thorough inspection led to the discovery of tramadol tablets—specifically 14,410 pills of 225 mg and 200 mg doses—hidden inside winter jackets packed in his bag.

“In his statement, Ebodor said he lives in Italy where he was hired and sent on the all-expense-paid trip to Nigeria to courier the drug consignments to Milan, Italy for a fee of 2000 Euros,” Babafemi said.