9.30 kilos of cocaine worth N2.7 billion was recovered at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)
In a statement released on Thursday in Abuja, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said a 32-year-old Liberian drug trafficker named Maduabuchi Chinedu was detained with the shipment.
Mr. Babafemi said the suspect works as a miner in Liberia and was from Obaha Okigwe Local Government Area in Imo state.
He claimed the man was apprehended on Nov. 24 at the Abuja airport during an inbound joint check of Ethiopian Airlines flight 911.
He claimed the cocaine, weighing 9.30 kilograms, was packaged in candy wrappers and hidden in the suspect’s luggage.
Mr. Chinedu stated that in 2018, he left Nigeria to reside in Liberia, and he has a residency permit in Liberia. He mentioned this during his preliminary interview
According to the statement, “financial strain and the need to collect money to cure his mother for an eye illness pushed him to seek assistance from a Liberian friend.”
Mr. Chinedu claimed that his acquaintance referred him to another friend in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, who eventually handed him the narcotic for a charge of N1 million to deliver in Abuja.
He went on to say that he was supposed to deliver the narcotics in Cote d’Ivoire but was redirected at the last minute to Nigeria.
NDLEA Chairman Buba Marwa praised the NAIA Command’s officers and men for their vigilance and teamwork with other security agencies at the airport, according to Mr. Babafemi.
Mr. Marwa urged them and his colleagues in other commands to stay two steps ahead of death merchants who are growing increasingly desperate to make money at the price of the country’s reputation and the well-being of Nigerians.