NDLEA intercepts Qatar-bound drugs concealed in cassava salad

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have detained a 35-year-old lady, Chidinma Chinenye Agbazue.

She was detained after being caught attempting to export 20 parcels of cannabis sativa weighing 10.70kgs concealed in African salad popularly called Abacha and dried vegetables to Doha, Qatar through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos state.

The agency’s officers at the Lagos airport working in partnership with men of the Department of State Security had on Thursday 28th March intercepted Chidinma, an outbound passenger from Lagos to Doha, on Qatar Airways during clearance of passengers at the screening point of terminal 11 of the MMIA.

A spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, in a statement, said that a preliminary investigation revealed that Chidinma was based in Qatar but returned to Nigeria last December for the Christmas celebration.

“She said preparatory to her return to Doha, she was lodged at Club Dice Hotel in Ikotun area of Lagos where the consignment was handed over to her for trafficking to the Arab country,” Babafemi said.

Meanwhile, two suspects, Monday Okeke and Chigozie Emeka, were on Tuesday arrested by NDLEA operatives in the Oniwaya, Yaba and Agege area of Lagos, where they recovered from them 842,560 pills of opioids especially tramadol in addition to 15 litres of codeine syrup and 596 grams of Molly.

An attempt by Okeke to bribe the NDLEA officers with N5m cash was rebuffed while the money was documented as part of exhibits to prosecute the suspects in court.