NDLEA arrest man with cocaine hidden inside shoes

By OKOSUN DENNIS

The quest to ensure Nigeria airports are not used as illegal drug trafficking points, officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja, have discovered parcels of whitish substance that tested positive for cocaine inside soles of shoes.

The discovery of the 9.15kgs was made in a shipment of shoes during inward screening of passengers on a Turkish airline flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

National Daily gathered that the cocaine was industrially concealed in the soles of new foot wears with an estimated value of 3.8 million pounds in Europe.

Confirming the arrest of the suspect, Okolo Emenike Kingsley, the NDLEA Commander at the Abuja airport, Hamisu Lawan, said that the arrest was made during the inward screening of passengers and luggage on a Turkish airline flight from Brazil.

“There was an arrest at the weekend of a 34-year-old suspect, Okolo Emenike Kingsley, who hails from Ezeagu, Enugu State. The motorcycle parts dealer said that he was offered the sum of N1m to smuggle the drugs to Nigeria. Investigation was on-going and the suspect is cooperating with our team of undercover officers” the commander stated.
Confessing to the crime, Okolo said, “I am a motorcycle parts dealer, married with a child. My business was failing due to recession so I travelled to Brazil in search of employment. Things became worse for me in Brazil because I had no money to sustain myself while my work permit was being processed. I was equally confronted with the fear of deportation. This made me to be desperate in my search for quick wealth.

“In the process, I met my childhood friend who offered me N1m to traffic cocaine to Nigeria. He also paid for my ticket and gave me three bags of shoes containing the cocaine. On arrival at the Abuja airport, the cocaine was detected and I was arrested. I had wanted to invest the N1m in business in Nigeria” Okolo told officials.
Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (retd) commended the officers for arresting the suspect describing the seizure as one of the benefits of training.

“The seizure is a validation of enhanced capacity of officers due to series of training programmes carried out by the Agency. The training covering investigation, raid operations as well as prosecution was conducted with the assistance of the United States government, European Union (EU) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Abdallah added that the huge profit derived from drug trafficking has made it a top priority for drug cartels to be financially incapacitated. “We must continue to take deliberate steps to intercept drugs and ultimately prevent the criminal enrichment of drug cartels.

It was further gathered that the suspect will soon be charged to court.