Mathew Amaechi
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a 44-year-old businessman, Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian, at Port Harcourt International Airport for attempting to smuggle 53 wraps of cocaine to Iran.
Ezemokwe was arrested on Saturday, June 7, while trying to board Qatar Airways flight QR1434 en route to Tehran via Doha. A body scan revealed he had ingested the narcotics. Under close observation, he excreted all 53 wraps in six batches, weighing a total of 1.172kg.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi confirmed in a statement on Sunday that the suspect admitted to being part of a cross-border drug trafficking ring between West Africa and Iran for two years. His arrest comes just two weeks after another suspect, 60-year-old Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, was caught at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport with 65 wraps of cocaine, also Iran-bound.
The statement read: “Barely two weeks after operatives at MAKIA arrested a 60-year-old with 65 wraps of cocaine, NDLEA officers at Port Harcourt airport intercepted Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian with 53 wraps of the same drug. He excreted the substance weighing 1.172kg after testing positive for ingestion.”
In a similar operation, NDLEA operatives at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, arrested Edobor Ambrose Ali, an Italy-bound passenger, with 14,410 tramadol pills hidden inside winter jackets in his luggage.
Ali, who was intercepted on an Air France flight, reportedly confessed he was hired in Italy and paid to return to Nigeria and smuggle the pills to Milan for a €2,000 fee. His luggage was flagged during a joint operation with FAAN security personnel.
In Rivers State, NDLEA agents, in collaboration with Customs and other agencies, intercepted a container carrying 157,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup at the Port Harcourt Ports in Onne. The shipment, disguised behind cartons of ceramic sanitary wares, is estimated to be worth over ₦1.1 billion in street value.
The NDLEA also reported a series of successful operations nationwide: Cross River: 2,687kg of skunk recovered from a warehouse in Obereakai, Odukpani LGA. Three suspects, aged 21 to 47, were arrested. Bauchi–Jos Road: Two men were apprehended with 195 blocks of skunk weighing 287kg hidden in a Toyota Camry. Lagos (Oniru Beach): 14 jumbo sacks of skunk weighing 560kg seized from a wooden boat by the NDLEA Marine Command. Maiduguri Airport: Two businessmen were arrested with ecstasy pills and cannabis disguised as snacks branded “Lychee” and “Porro Legal.”
The NDLEA says the arrests and seizures are part of intensified efforts to dismantle international and local drug trafficking networks. Babafemi reiterated the agency’s resolve to pursue every lead and bring traffickers to justice, stressing that the fight against drug abuse and trafficking remains a top national priority.
