NDLEA Arrests Iran-Bound Businessman with 53 Wraps of Cocaine at Port Harcourt Airport
....Seizes Over N1.1 Billion Worth of Codeine, Intercepts Drugs at Lagos, Rivers, Cross River, and Bauchi
PORT HARCOURT — Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 44-year-old businessman, Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian, at the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA) for ingesting 53 wraps of cocaine while attempting to travel to Tehran, Iran.
Ezemokwe was intercepted on Saturday, June 7, while boarding Qatar Airways flight QR1434 en route to Tehran via Doha. A body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs, prompting NDLEA officers to place him under observation. Over six excretions, the suspect expelled 53 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.172kg. He confessed to engaging in drug trafficking two years ago, moving drugs between West Africa and Iran.
This arrest comes just two weeks after the agency nabbed 60-year-old Chinedu Leonard Okigbo at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport for a similar offence—ingesting 65 wraps of cocaine bound for Iran.
In a separate operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, NDLEA operatives in the early hours of Saturday, June 14, arrested Edobor Ambrose Ali, an Italy-bound passenger aboard an Air France flight. Working in conjunction with the Aviation Security unit of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), officers uncovered 14,410 pills of tramadol 225mg and 200mg concealed in winter jackets inside the suspect’s luggage.
Ali confessed to being hired for the drug courier trip to Milan for a fee of €2,000, claiming he lives in Italy and was sponsored for the mission.
Massive Seizures in Rivers, Cross River, Bauchi, and Lagos
At the Onne Port in Rivers State, NDLEA officers on Friday, June 13, intercepted a container loaded with 157,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup, valued at over ₦1.1 billion in street worth. The container was discovered during a joint operation with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies. The illicit opioids were concealed behind 257 cartons of ceramic sanitary wares.
Meanwhile, in Cross River State, three suspects — Friday Achibong Joseph (47), Abraham Anthony Willy (21), and Utibe David Okon (24) — were arrested on Thursday, June 12, during a raid on a warehouse in Obereakai, Odukpani Local Government Area. The operation led to the seizure of 2,687kg of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis.
On the same day, NDLEA operatives in Bauchi arrested two suspects, Iriemi Imonikhe (49) and Sa'idu Ladan (30), along the Bauchi-Jos road. They were found with 195 blocks of skunk weighing 287kg inside a Toyota Camry with plate number AKL 201 GG.
In Lagos, marine officers of the agency recovered 14 jumbo sacks of skunk weighing 560kg from a wooden boat at Oniru beach on Thursday, June 12.
Also on that date, two businessmen — Ishaku Abdullahi (30) and Buba Usman (32) — were arrested at the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport, Maiduguri, with quantities of ecstasy pills and skunk cleverly packaged in branded wrappers labeled "Lychee" and "Porro Legal."
WADA Campaigns Intensify Across Nigeria
As part of its drug demand reduction efforts, the NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns in several states. Awareness lectures were held at Command Secondary School, Orba in Enugu; Divine Gift International School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi; Baptist Primary School, Ago-Are, Oyo; and St. Vincent Secondary School, Oti-Oron Okobo, Akwa Ibom.
Commending the operatives for their efforts, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised personnel across the agency’s commands for maintaining a strong balance between disrupting drug supply networks and promoting drug education and prevention.
Femi Babafemi
Director, Media & Advocacy
NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja
