The National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested three suspects with 7.5 kilograms of Cocaine at the Port Harcourt Port in Rivers State.
The Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, NDLEA, Joseph Nbona Sunday, who disclosed this in Port Harcourt explained that the arrest and seizure followed months of extensive surveillance and monitoring of the suspected import.
Sunday said:
“NDLEA has seized 7.5 kilograms of cocaine at the NPA Port in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. At the moment, three persons have been arrested in connection with the recovered drugs.
“This seizure followed months of extensive surveillance and monitoring of the suspected container and several days of hard-work by NDLEA personnel to locate, offload and cut through the huge mass iron bars of a tremendous thick density of pure mass of steel with a diameter of over 1ft.
“This cocaine seizure was, therefore, a product of professional management of information, hard-work, perseverance and sheer determination of the Agency and its personnel that was involved in the operation.
Sunday noted that the choice of Port Harcourt port by the suspects to smuggle the hard drugs into the country was based on perceived laxity at the port, but stated that the success of the operation was based on support from the chairman of the agency, Col. Mohammad Mustapha Abdullahi (rtd) and commitment on the side of the operatives in the state.
He said:
“It must be emphasized that this seizure is first of its kind in the existence of the NPA port in Port Harcourt. Its significance is that no entry/exit point of the country is free for illicit traffickers of drugs.
“The choice of the NPA port Port Harcourt to smuggle the seized cocaine must have been deliberate based on their observed or perceived laxity at the port but for the vigilance, dexterity and proactive disposition of the NDLEA and its personnel.”
A U.S. Coast Guard was patrolling the Eastern Pacific Ocean when he spotted a large sea turtle tangled in 26 bales of cocaine that was floating in the waves. While officials are used to seeking out drugs that are transported throughout various waterways, they have yet to come across a site as humorous as an innocent turtle being caught within a drug trafficking attempt.
According to Coast Guard Ensign Mark Krebs, a helicopter cruising above initially spotted the mound of drugs and notified authorities on boat, who when arriving on the scene, noticed the entangled turtle struggling to set itself free while its neck and flippers chaffed from the lines.
Just to reiterate, at street value, 1,800 pounds of cocaine equates to a potential profit of $53 million. If only the turtle knew the fortune it had stumbled upon as it innocently roamed around. However, this isn’t the first “fishy” cocaine-related news story, as former Miami Dolphins coach Chris Foerster recently resigned after a video surfaced of him snorting lines went viral.
Emeka Okafor, a suspected drug trafficker, has said he went into narcotics trade to get enough money to rent a shop and invest in his business, Premium Times reports. Mr. Okafor, 28, was among three suspects arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The NDLEA said, in a statement on Friday, that it also arrested a suspect smuggling ephedrine inside female footwears to Tanzania.
“The names of the suspected drug traffickers are Ogujiuba Zacchaeus, 48 years old electrician caught exporting 26.6kg of ephedrine to Tanzania; Uchegbu Emeka, 33 years old textile merchant smuggling 305 grammes of cocaine to Cambodia and Okafor Emeka, 28 years old automobile parts dealer caught importing 1.370kg of cocaine from Sierra Leone,” the agency said in a statement by its spokesperson, Mitchel Ofoyeju.
The agency said all the cases were being investigated and the suspects would appear in court soon.
“My love for money made me to ingest 69 wraps of cocaine 1.370kgs in Sierra Leone,” the agency quoted Mr. Okafor, an automobile parts dealer in Lagos, as saying.
Another suspect, Mr. Ogujiuba, said he was introduced into the illicit trade by an old friend.
“I am married with six children and I reside in Abia where I work as an electrician,” the suspect was quoted as saying.
“The ephedrine was carefully hidden inside female shoes and given to me by an old time friend. He told me to take the drug to Lagos and handle the shipping arrangements to Tanzania. Unfortunately, I was arrested during examination of the consignment after the drug was discovered. I regret ever getting involved in drug trafficking.”
Mr. Uchegbu, who allegedly inserted seven wraps of cocaine into his anus in a bid to evade arrest blamed his involvement on joblessness.
“I am a textile merchant but today I am jobless. I lost everything due to economic recession and family problems,” he said.
“That was why I agreed to collect the sum of eight hundred thousand naira to smuggle cocaine to Cambodia. My intention was to invest the money in legitimate business.”
The Chairman of the NDLEA, Muhammad Abdallah, assured members of the public that the agency would always ensure that offenders are severely sanctioned to deter others from engaging in drug trafficking.
“The agency will continue to work very hard in ensuring the certainty of commensurate punishment for all drug culprits in line with the NDLEA Act,” Mr. Abdallah stated.
The NDLEA boss added that investing proceeds of drug trafficking in legitimate businesses is money laundering and that the agency would invoke relevant sections of the law against offenders.
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