Two suspects have been arrested at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, AIIA, Enugu in connection with attempts to smuggle illicit drugs to China by the officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
One of the suspects, Esonwunne Onyechi Benson, 31 packed substance that tested positive to cannabis in noodles, but disguised the drug as noodles. He had wanted to give it to an unsuspecting passenger to help him courier the drug to China before luck ran out of him.
The other suspect, Adibe Wisdom Baloba, 47, who before the arrest was a clearing and forwarding agent was arrested at the airport during the outward screening of Ethiopian Airlines out of the airport. He ingested 74 wraps of cocaine.
However, the suspects attributed their involvement in the illicit trade to high exchange rate of naira to a dollar and the current poor economy.
Spokesman of NDLEA, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju in a statement said that Esonwunne had wanted to use some an unsuspecting passenger to courier the drugs to China.He however, called on the members of the public, particularly passengers not to collect consignment from people.
He said, “This is a plot by suspected drug traffickers to use innocent passengers in smuggling drugs. Some persons may have fallen into this wicked plot if not for the timely intervention of the agency.
“It is instructive that people be aware of this trick because what they consider as an assistance may just send them to prison or early graves. This is because drug trafficking is punishable by death in China.
“To an average passenger, the suspected bag contained noodles, but during search operations, the packs of noodles turned out to be cannabis. In the past, we have recovered drugs hidden inside books, parcels and even letters.
“It is important therefore that members of the public must act with utmost caution and avoid acts that could turn them into drug traffickers.
Besides, the NDLEA Commander at the Enugu Airport, Mr. Adeofe Adeyemi explained that Adibe was caught during outward screening of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight to China.
He said that the 74 wraps substance he ingested tested positive for cocaine with a weight of 1.417kgs while the other suspect, Esonwunne was caught attempting to send a luggage containing cannabis to China through an unsuspecting passenger.
He added that the cannabis was carefully prepared inside packs of noodles to avoid detection, stressing that investigating officers were working hard on the cases.
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