The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Lagos-based businessman, Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu, over his alleged involvement in an attempt to smuggle 3.30 kilograms of cocaine to the United Kingdom.
According to the agency, the 55-year-old clothing merchant at Balogun Market, Lagos Island, was apprehended on Thursday, July 23, after investigators linked him to a cocaine consignment intercepted a day earlier at the export section of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed in a statement on Sunday that the illicit drug had been concealed inside the walls of cartons used to package food items intended for shipment to the UK.
The investigation initially led to the arrest of three cargo agents identified as Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina, Adeleke Abiola Taoheed and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim, who processed the consignment.
The agency said further inquiries resulted in the arrest of Kenneth Okakpu, who allegedly delivered the shipment to the cargo handlers. Information obtained from him reportedly exposed Chinedu as the alleged mastermind behind the trafficking network.
NDLEA said Chinedu was eventually arrested while allegedly making arrangements to dispatch another cocaine consignment to the United Kingdom.
READ ALSO:Â NDLEA Uncovers Tramadol Concealed In Black Soap Containers Bound For UK
In a separate operation, operatives arrested 31-year-old entrepreneur Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo at her residence in Surulere, Lagos, over alleged drug trafficking activities.
The arrest followed the interception of a 2.80-kilogram consignment of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, which had arrived from the United States on a United Airlines flight.
The anti-narcotics agency also announced the seizure of 2.24 million pills of Tapentadol 250mg at the Lagos airport.
According to the agency, the consignment, with an estimated street value of over N2.2 billion, was uncovered during a joint examination of cargo that arrived from India aboard an Air Maroc flight on Friday, July 24.
NDLEA said the operation was intelligence-driven and came shortly after operatives intercepted another shipment containing tramadol concealed inside containers of black soap that was bound for the United Kingdom through a courier company in Lagos.
