By Our Correspondent
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested three suspected drug traffickers , a China-based Nigerian businessman and two Angolan nationals , after they excreted a combined total of 236 wraps of cocaine at two major international airports in Nigeria.
The first suspect, 34-year-old Ibeanu Vincent Chukwudulue, who resides in Guangzhou, was intercepted at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport while preparing to board a Qatar Airways flight bound for China. Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA officers subjected him to a body scan, which confirmed that he had ingested illicit drugs. He was placed under close medical observation and subsequently excreted 52 wraps of cocaine weighing approximately 735.95 grams.
In a separate operation at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, two Angolan nationals , Mbandu Martins Makiadi, 50, and Ngoma Wilson Fernando, 52 , were arrested during outward clearance for a flight to Istanbul. Body scans revealed that both men had swallowed cocaine pellets. Under monitored conditions, Makiadi excreted 76 wraps weighing about 920 grams, while Fernando expelled 108 pellets with a combined weight of 1.33 kilograms.
Investigations indicate that the two Angolan suspects were allegedly recruited by an automobile spare parts dealer based in Luanda. They were reportedly promised a payment of $3,000 each upon successful delivery of the drugs in Turkey.
The NDLEA stated that the arrests form part of its intensified surveillance and interdiction operations at international airports across Nigeria. The agency reiterated its commitment to combating transnational drug trafficking and strengthening border security to curb the movement of illicit substances through the country’s airspace.
