The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Thailand returnee Oguejiofor Nnaemeka Simonpeter for importing 13.30 kilograms of heroin worth over N3.192 billion.
The suspect was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
Oguejiofor was arrested on Monday, October 7, 2024, while attempting to smuggle out of the airport the illicit drug concealed in six backpacks and then packed into two big suitcases.
Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director of Media & Advocacy in a statement on Sunday said the 29-year-old graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Anambra state, left Thailand on October 3 on Qatar Airways flight and stopped over in Doha where he spent two days before heading to Lagos while his luggage was routed to Accra, Ghana, his original destination.
“After arriving in Lagos on the 5th October, he contacted the airline to reroute his luggage to Nigeria so that he can pick them up as rush bags in a bit to beat security checks,” he said.
“However, NDLEA officers intercepted him at the point of exit. A search of his two suitcases revealed three empty backpacks in each box with a large parcel of heroin neatly sewn to all the six backpacks. The six parcels were subsequently recovered with a gross weight of 13.30kg.”
NDLEA said Oguejiofor in his statement claimed he was hired for a fee of $7,000 upon successful delivery of the parcels. He said he was to deliver two parcels in Lagos and the other four parcels in Accra, Ghana.
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