NDLEA Arrests Businessman with 700g of Cocaine at Lagos Airport

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended a 50-year-old Nigerian businessman based in Brazil for allegedly smuggling 700 grams of cocaine into the country. The arrest occurred at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, on Friday, November 29, as confirmed by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja.

The suspect, identified as Ezeokolie Silver, who has lived in Brazil for 35 years, was intercepted upon arrival from Sao Paulo via Ethiopian Airlines, with a layover in Addis Ababa. NDLEA operatives at the airport’s E-Arrival hall discovered the contraband concealed within the suspect’s body after a body scan confirmed the presence of foreign objects. Under close observation, the suspect expelled 29 wraps of substances that later tested positive for cocaine, weighing a total of 700 grams.

According to his statement, the suspect claimed to operate an African store in Brazil where he sells provisions, shoes, and clothing. He admitted to purchasing the illicit drugs in Sao Paulo with plans to resell them in Nigeria to raise funds for his business.

In a separate development, NDLEA officers from the Directorate of Investigation and General Investigation (DOGI) intercepted two consignments on November 26. These consignments, bound for the UK via a Lagos courier company, contained 200 grams of cocaine concealed in local fabrics and 40 ampoules of pentazocine injection, weighing 110 grams, hidden in cartons.

The NDLEA continues to intensify efforts to curb drug trafficking through Nigerian airports and other entry points.