Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have discovered wraps of narcotics in the collar of a passenger’s jacket at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos. The arrest was made shortly after the suspect disembarked from the aircraft on his way from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The 31-year old suspect, Agwu Samuel, confidently wore the jacket containing the drugs but through experience and insight, the drugs were discovered by officers. This is the first discovery of cocaine inside the collar of a jacket by the NDLEA.
In his reaction, the Chairman/Chief Executive of the Agency, Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah, described the suspect’s action as desperately crafty and cunning. According to Abdallah, “the cocaine was detected by officers notwithstanding the crafty and cunning mode of concealment. The agency has taken some strategic measures aimed at disappointing the tricks employed by drug trafficking syndicates. We remain committed to exposing criminal plots through superior counter-narcotic intelligence. This operational success is commendable and a demonstration of our alertness to detect drugs.”
He said that the agency will continue to invest in capacity building programmes for officers.
The NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport, Ahmadu Garba, said that the suspect was arrested during routine check on passengers. “Ten wraps of cocaine weighing 110 grammes were found inside the collar of his jacket during screening of passengers on a South Africa Airline flight from Brazil through Johannesburg. The drug which was carefully hidden inside his jacket tested positive for cocaine and investigation is ongoing.”
Agwu Samuel, the suspect who sells shoes in Togo, said in his statement that he went to Brazil in search of greener pastures but resorted to drug trafficking due to frustration. According to the suspect,
“I use to sell shoes in Togo until I lost goods worth N3 million. This negatively affected my business and made me to travel to Brazil in a desperate search for greener pastures. After a fruitless search for job in Brazil for four months, I decided to smuggle drugs to get some money to start my shoe business. I thought the drugs will not be detected inside my jacket but I was caught and I am very sad.” He attended Technical Secondary School in Ohafia, Abia State.
He will soon be charged to court.