NDLEA Arrests Iran-bound Businessman at Port Harcourt Airport for Swallowing 53 Wraps of Cocaine

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 44-year-old businessman, Chukwuebuka Christian Ezemokwe, at the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA) for attempting to smuggle 53 wraps of cocaine to Iran.

Ezemokwe was apprehended on Saturday while boarding Qatar Airways flight QR1434 to Tehran via Doha. According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, a body scan revealed the suspect had ingested illicit drugs. He later excreted 53 pellets of cocaine, weighing a total of 1.172kg, over six excretions.

The suspect allegedly admitted to operating in the drug trade for two years, trafficking between West Africa and Iran.

This arrest follows a similar incident two weeks ago, when NDLEA officers at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport arrested 60-year-old Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, also headed to Iran, with 65 pellets of cocaine in his stomach.

In a related operation, NDLEA officers at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, in collaboration with FAAN Aviation Security, intercepted Edobor Ambrose Ali, an Italy-bound passenger on an Air France flight. A search of his luggage revealed 14,410 tramadol tablets concealed in winter jackets. Ali confessed to being recruited in Italy to courier the drugs to Milan for a fee of €2,000.

Other major seizures and arrests during the week include:

• Rivers State (Onne Port): Interception of 157,800 bottles of codeine syrup, worth over ₦1.1 billion, hidden behind cartons of ceramic wares in a watch-listed container.

• Cross River: Arrest of three suspects in Obereakai, Odukpani LGA, and seizure of 2,687kg of cannabis (skunk) from a warehouse.

  
  

• Bauchi State: 195 blocks of skunk (287kg) seized from two suspects along the Bauchi-Jos road.

  
  

• Lagos (Oniru Beach): 560kg of skunk recovered from a wooden boat.

• Maiduguri Airport: Two businessmen caught with ecstasy pills and skunk disguised as ‘Lychee’ and ‘Porro Legal’.

Meanwhile, the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign continued in schools across Enugu, Ebonyi, Oyo, and Akwa Ibom States, educating students on the dangers of drug abuse.

NDLEA Chairman/CEO Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended the agency’s operatives nationwide for their efforts in curbing drug trafficking and striking a balance between supply reduction and demand reduction strategies.