Nigerian Man Arrested At Lagos Airport With N3.1bn Worth Of Heroin After Returning From Thailand

Nigerian Man Arrested At Lagos Airport With N3.1bn Worth Of Heroin After Returning From ThailandThe National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended Oguejiofor Nnaemeka Simon Peter, a returnee from Thailand, for allegedly importing 13.30 kg of heroin valued at over N3.192 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos.

In addition to this arrest, NDLEA operatives intercepted significant shipments of opioids at three seaports, amounting to a combined value of N22.7 billion. This information was revealed in a statement issued on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media & Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters in Abuja.

Oguejiofor was detained on Monday, October 7, 2024, while trying to smuggle the illicit drugs out of the airport. The heroin was concealed in six backpacks packed into two large suitcases. According to the statement, the 29-year-old, who graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University in Uli, Anambra State, had departed Thailand on October 3, 2024, via a Qatar Airways flight, with a stopover in Doha, Qatar, where he spent two days before arriving in Lagos. His luggage was initially routed to Accra, Ghana, his original destination.

The statement detailed how NDLEA officers intercepted Oguejiofor at the exit point after he contacted the airline to reroute his luggage to Nigeria, intending to claim it as rush bags in an attempt to bypass security checks.

Upon searching the suspect’s suitcases, NDLEA agents discovered three empty backpacks in each suitcase, with large parcels of heroin neatly sewn into all six backpacks. A total gross weight of 13.30 kg of heroin was recovered. In his confession, Oguejiofor stated he was offered $7,000 to deliver the parcels, with plans to deliver two in Lagos and four in Accra.

In a related operation, NDLEA reported the seizure of 32,607,900 pills of tramadol valued at over N12.5 billion and 1,451,994 bottles of codeine-based syrup worth N10.1 billion at the Lekki Deep Seaport, Apapa Seaport, and Port Harcourt Port Complex in Rivers State. The total value of these opioid seizures is approximately N22.7 billion.

These illicit consignments were intercepted from containers monitored by NDLEA based on intelligence, and they underwent a thorough joint examination with Nigeria Customs and other security agencies at the three seaports between October 7 and October 11, 2024.

Additionally, NDLEA operatives in Anambra arrested a 29-year-old suspect named Okelue Chidera on October 12, 2024, for possessing 50,000 tablets of 200mg tramadol in Upper Iweka, Onitsha. In Edo State, operatives raided a cannabis transit and loading point in Aviose, Owan West LGA, recovering 70 bags of the substance weighing 1,050 kg. Another suspect, Monday Akele, 38, was arrested on October 11, 2024, in Owan Village, Ovia North East LGA, with 110 kg of cannabis seized.

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