The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a businessman, Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian, for ingesting 53 wraps of cocaine while attempting to board a flight to Iran from Port Harcourt International Airport.
Ezemokwe, 44, was arrested on Saturday, June 7, while boarding Qatar Airways flight QR1434 to Tehran Khomeini via Doha.
Following a body scan that revealed narcotics use, he was placed under monitoring and expelled the illicit drugs in six batches. The drugs weighed a total of 1.172 kg.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi’s statement on Sunday, the suspect admitted to being involved in drug trafficking between West Africa and Iran for the previous two years.
This comes only two weeks after NDLEA agents detained Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, 60, at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport. Okigbo was found with 65 wraps of cocaine in his stomach and was also on his way to Iran.
The statement said, “Barely two weeks after operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, intercepted a 60-year-old businessman, Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, heading to Iran with 65 pellets of cocaine in his stomach, their counterparts at Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA) have arrested another businessman, 44-year-old Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian, for ingesting 53 wraps of the same class A drug while on his way to Tehran Khomeini, Islamic Republic of Iran.
“Ezemokwe was arrested at Port Harcourt airport on Saturday, 7 June, while trying to board Qatar Airways flight QR1434 flying to Tehran Khomeini in Iran via Doha.
“After a body scan proved positive for ingestion of illicit drugs, he was placed under excretion observation, during which he expelled 53 wraps of cocaine in six excretions, with a total weight of 1.172 kg.
“The suspect claimed to have been involved in the criminal trade for two years, moving between the West African sub-region and Iran.”
