BEVERLY HILLS, January 03, (THEWILL) – Officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja have discovered parcels of whitish substance that tested positive for cocaine, worth £3.8m hidden inside foot wears.
According to a statement released by the agency’s spokesperson, Mitchell Ofoyeju, the substance which weighed 9.150kgs, was hidden by a 34-year-old motorcycle parts dealer, identified as Okolo Emenike, and were concealed in the soles of foot wears being imported into the country.
“The discovery was made in a shipment of shoes during inward screening of passengers on a Turkish airline flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil,” NDLEA Agency Commander at the Abuja Airport, Hamisu Lawan, said.
“The cocaine was industrially concealed in the soles of new foot wears.
“There was an arrest at the weekend of a 34- year old suspect, Kingsley Okolo Emenike.
“The suspect who is a motorcycle parts dealer said that he was offered the N1 million to smuggle the drugs to Nigeria.
“During interrogation, Emenike, a father of one, disclosed that he was offered N1 million to smuggle the drugs into Nigeria.
“He explained that he was forced to leave the shores of Nigeria for Brazil in search of greener pastures, when his business was experiencing a down turn, owing to recession.
“However, on reaching Brazil, Emenike said, things became worse for him as he could not get a job and had no money to sustain himself which led him to the act.”
The statement also quoted the chairman of the NDLEA, Muhammad Abdallah, as saying that the huge profit derived from drug trafficking has made it a top priority for drug cartels to be financially incapacitated.
“We must continue to take deliberate steps to intercept drugs and ultimately prevent the criminal enrichment of drug cartels.
“Illicit drug proceeds negatively affect economic development and could be used to corrupt government officials and fund terrorism thereby subjecting mankind to widespread destruction,” Abdallah stated.
“The seizure is a validation of enhanced capacity of officers due to series of training programmes carried out by the Agency.”
Story by Oputah David
