A 32 year-old textile merchant, Emujue Chimaobi John Paul had allegedly hidden 5.745kg of cocaine inside laptop bags on his way from Sao Paulo, Brazil. The suspect was apprehended on arrival at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos. This followed the prompt detection of the drug by officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) during the inward screening of Etihad flight passengers. The cocaine has an estimated street value of fifty-seven (N57,000,000) million naira.
NDLEA Commander, Hamza Umar described the mode of concealment as ingenious. According to Hamza, “if not for the painstaking efforts of officers the drug suspect would have escaped arrest. The cocaine was ingeniously packed in laptop bags such that we had to cut the bags open to detect the drug”.
Meanwhile, investigation had commenced into the case and the suspect who hails from Anambra State will soon be charged to court. He is single and dropped out of school in Junior Secondary School (JSSI) in 1988.
In his statement, Emujue Chimaobi John Paul said that it was frustration that made him to venture into drug smuggling. “I am a textile merchant. Since 2003, I have been dealing in textiles in Togo. In 2011, I relocated to Brazil in search of greener pastures. Unfortunately, my business did not flourish as I had expected. In fact, I was even living from hand to mouth. I was told that I could make enough money from drug trafficking to invest in my business. That was how I was convinced to give it a trial and I was arrested in the process” Emujue stated.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Ahmadu Giade commended the arresting officers for the arrest. “The Agency will continue to arrest drug traffickers and charge them to court. This arrest is commendable. Members of the public must note that it is wrong to raise capital from drug trafficking because anyone that ventures into the criminal act will end up regretting in jail” Giade warned.
The anti-drug boss also urged stakeholders to partner with the Agency in fighting against drug trafficking, money laundering and related crimes.
