26-year-old hides cocaine in sandals, bag (PICTURED)

Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Monday arrested 26-year-old Igwe Ogbonna for possessing 630 grammes of cocaine hidden inside two pairs of sandals and his luggage.

The discovery was made at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos while Ognonna was attempting to board a Kenyan Airways flight to India.

According to the NDLEA Airport commander, Mr Hamza Umar, the suspect wore one pair of the sandals while another pair of sandals containing drug was in his luggage.

Umar said, “The suspect was arrested following the discovery of the drug during a routine search. Officers first found some cocaine inside the pair of sandals Ogbonna wore at the screening area.

“During the search, some quantities of cocaine were equally found in another pair of sandals and inside his luggage. He was found with 630 grammes of cocaine hidden inside two pairs of sandals and in his luggage.

Ogbonna said that he was travelling to India to further his studies.

He said, “I was advised to further my education in India since I had an uncle living there. They gave me only 700 dollars, still I was excited because I have always wanted to further my education.

“I was directed to Lagos from the East after my travel documents had been prepared and the bag and pairs of sandals handed over to me.

“The people who advised me also instructed me to wear one of the sandals, so I felt bad when the drug was detected.”

Chairman of the agency, Ahmadu Giade, said that efforts were being made to arrest other persons connected to the crime.

He said, “The agency is working to identify other suspects who are involved in this criminal act.

“I also wish to state that members of the public should be careful when people offer to sponsor them abroad. Investigation has since commenced and the suspect will soon be charged to court.”

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Two Women Nabbed Smuggling Cocaine in Homemade Diapers

Two women from the Bronx have been nabbed smuggling six and a half kilos of cocaine hidden in homemade diapers under their pants.

Priscilla Pena and Michelle Blassingale were returning to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on a JetBlue flight from the Dominican Republic on Saturday when they were stopped by Customs and Border Protection officers.

A drug-sniffing dog alerted the officers when it came close to Pena, which prompted the officers to conduct a search of her luggage.

It was reported that the officers performed a pat-down and discovered that Pena was wearing what was described as a homemade diaper made out of duct tape “filled with cocaine and rigged like a girdle around their hind quarters.”

The two women were immediately arrested and charged with smuggling. While Blassingale was held in custody in Brooklyn, Pena was released on a $150,000 bail.

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King Sunny Ade's ex-guitarist, Fatoke Abiodun, caught with cocaine

One of King Sunny Ade's ex-guitarist, 62 year old Fatoke Abiodun (pictured above with the drugs), was arrested on Tuesday January 1st 2013 with 1.575kg of cocaine, according to anti-drug agency, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

Mr Fatoke was arrested on Tuesday while trying to board an Air France flight to Italy at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. The drug was discovered in the false bottom of his luggage during the screening of passengers to Italy. He is the first trafficker to be arrested in 2013.

Fatoke said he played for KSA for 30 years before he was unceremoniously retired in 2007 and with nothing to fall back on, and with four wives, and many children, the grandfather turned to drugs.  He said this trip was his first attempt. Drug trafficking should never be an option. Sad!

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Colombian Drug Baron, Seven Nigerians Arrested By The NDLEA

A Colombian drug baron and seven Nigerians who specialise in the production of Methamphetamine (white, odourless, bitter crystalline powder) have been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The NDLEA Chairman, Alhaji Ahmadu Giade, who made the disclosure on Thursday in Lagos at a news conference, expressed concern over the health and security implications of illegal production of the drug in Nigeria.

“Our investigation had shown that the Colombian expert on the production of methamphetamine, Mr Gonzelo Osorio a.k.a Fabian Arcila and Baez Benitez Milan was invited to establish three clandestine laboratories on a 38,000 dollars weekly contract.

“This is sad and worrisome. It is a clarion call on stakeholders to pay priority attention on this dangerous twist in our nation’s drug trade,” he said.

Giade said that narcotic investigators also arrested seven Nigerian members of the criminal gang who were now helping officials of the NDLEA in their investigation.

“The suspects are Gonzelo Osorio, Gabriel Obi, Anthony Ebi, Olisa Onyebuchukwu, Mickey Ezeokoli, Solomon Ogbonna and Chidi Efeagwazi.

“Twelve vehicles belonging to suspected members of the cartel have been confiscated.

“In addition, four houses have also been traced to the criminal group by the agency,” he said.

Giade said the undercover operation that led to the arrest of members of the gang commenced on Nov. 2011, when Osorio was contracted by a Nigerian drug syndicate to establish three methamphetamine production laboratories in different parts of the country.

He described the operation as ‘one of the best’ in terms of duration, expertise and professionalism handled by the agency.

“The first clandestine laboratory Osario established was situated at Majek area of Ibeju Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State, while another one was located at Nanka Village, near Awka in Anambra.

“The criminal gang was in the process of establishing the third laboratory when NDLEA officers apprehended them,” he said.

The NDLEA boss said that Osorio left Nigeria in December, 2011 and returned on May 30, 2012 with a false identity as a citizen of Paraguay with the name Baez Benitez Milan on his travel documents.

“Osario is regarded as an expert in the production of methamphetamine in his country and was hired on a contract of 38,000 dollars weekly by the drug cartel,” he said.

Giade said that while the operation was on going, a Nigerian suspect was apprehended in Lagos for using his residence for the production of methamphetamine.

He said that suspects involved in the criminal act were either ignorant of the lethal health hazard of their actions or blinded by selfish interest

“The use of Methamphetamine endangers public health.

“More worrisome is the security implication, due to the huge profit involved,” Giade said.

Methamphetamine is a central nervous system stimulant available only on prescription but often abused by snorting. [NAN]

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40-Year Old Man Excretes 90 Wraps Of Cocaine In 2 Weeks

A suspected drug trafficker recently excreted 90 wraps of substances believed to be cocaine in 14 days.The suspect, Peter Onyeagba, 40, who allegedly tested positive for drug ingestion after his arrest at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos during an inward screening of passengers on a Kenyan Airways flight, was arrested by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

While confirming the arrest, NDLEA Airport Commander, Hamza Umar, said, “Onyeagba is the longest observed drug suspect since January 2012. He began excretion the day he was arrested and took two weeks to complete observation. Some others conclude the evacuation of ingested drugs in three days, while a majority last for a week. This is the longest observed case since January.”

Onyeagba, who sells building materials for a living and is a resident of Lome, Togo blamed his predicament on greed. Hear him, “I have been selling building materials in Togo for over 10 years. I was on a business trip to Brazil with $8,000 and had planned on visiting Nigeria. Some of my friends that we usually meet in a drinking bar introduced me into drugs.

“They told me that instead of going back to Nigeria with nothing, that I should take some drugs and earn $3,000. I was not forced to smuggle the drug; I only decided to give it a try after much persuasion. I was interested in making an additional $3,000.”

It would be recalled that last year October, popular Yoruba comic, Babatunde Omidina aka Baba Suwe, was held for more than two weeks on suspicions of ingesting cocaine. The actor was later freed on the orders of a Lagos high court after he failed to excrete the suspected substance and would go on to win a N25m judgement against the agency.

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NDLEA uncovers cocaine in candle

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Abia State command yesterday arrested a suspected drug peddler in Aba, Abia State. According to NDLEA commander in the state, Florence Ezeonye, the suspect was arrested at a courier house while attempting to transport the drugs concealed in a ‘spiritual’ candle to their agent in Vietnam. 

  Ezeonye said the officer attached to the courier company became suspicious when the suspect arrived the company, insisting that his parcel be handled with caution.  According to her, the officer took the candle from the suspect, and on closer examination, discovered that it contained drugs as well as a cheque of 500 Euros.

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NDLEA Arrests Akure High Chief With 8 Bags Of Indian Hemp

The NDLEA in Osun has arrested an Akure high chief for allegedly being in possession of eight bags of Indian  hemp.The agency’s  acting Commander, Mr Samuel Gadzama, told the News Agency of  Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Osogbo that the 52-year-old suspect  was arrested  with his cousin  on Sept. 23 in Iwo town.

``The surveillance team of the command was monitoring the movement of the two suspects in a Honda saloon car  marked BC 57 FST  coming  from Ilesa  before it was finally stopped at Iwo.

``The team initially wanted to trace them to where they were going to supply the eight bags of Indian hemp weighing 45.45 kg, but swooped on them when the suspects wanted to escape after  discovering  that the officers were tracing them,’’ Gadzama said.

He said that investigation was still going on, adding that the suspects would be charged to court at the appropriate time.

But when questioned, the high chief  denied any involvement in the case.

He claimed that  he only assisted the second suspect who was his cousin in transporting the weeds to Iwo.

``I got to know what was inside the bags when he (second suspect) supplied two bags to a customer in Ilesa before heading to Iwo with the remaining eight bags.

``I am from a popular family in Obaile-Akure, a respected chief in Akure land,  so I cannot indulge in criminal act,’’ he added.

Gadzama further disclosed that 45 hectares of Indian hemp farm were destroyed between August and September in the state while 309.685kg of Indian hemp was recovered from traffickers and cultivators.

He said that the latest farm destruction exercise held  on Tuesday  at the Oloro-Araromi Forest Reserve in Isokan Local Government Area of the state where five hectares of Indian hemp were  destroyed.

The NDLEA boss further said that 10 suspects were arrested between August and Sept.

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NDLEA intercepts N294 million worth of heroin in carpets

 Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have aborted an attempt by suspected drug syndicate to smuggle 24.5kg of heroin concealed inside carpets into Nigeria.

 The consignment described in the airway bill as Pakistani hand-knotted new woollen carpets originated from Lahore, Pakistan. It left Karachi airport in an Emirate flight as unaccompanied cargo and taken to Nigeria Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Shed, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos.

 

The estimated value of the drug is N294 million. It is the first discovery of drug inside carpets in the country.The NDLEA airport Commander, Hamza Umar said the consignment was examined by the Agency when it was abandoned by the importers.

“The suspicious cargo was monitored by undercover operatives for a week after it arrived. We decided to conduct the search when nobody came to claim it. In all, there were twelve pieces of carpets but only six contained heroin. The heroin was prepared into tiny bits inside plastic hollow treads and weaved in a way that makes it difficult to detect unless it is unfastened” Mr Hamza said.

He added that the information on the airway bill was found to be incorrect by investigators.

The Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade who described the seizure as breath-taking promised to unveil the importers.

“The drug syndicate did their best concealing the drug but it was not good enough to go undetected. If drug barons will not lack concealment methods, we also will not be tired in detecting narcotics. 

This seizure is unique because it is the least place anyone will go to in search for narcotics. We shall continue with investigation until those behind the illegal shipment are brought to book” Mr Giade said.

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Record Breaker: Bola Adebisi Caught In US Airport With Swallowed 180 Pellets Of Heroin!!!

The dream to acquire a Mercedes Benz, own a house in Lekki/Ajah and become one of the party attendants within and outside the country has been dashed as a Nigerian woman, Bola Adebisi, set an unenviable world record for amount of ingested heroin ever recovered when she tried to smuggle five pounds of heroin in 180 pellets into the U.S. The previous record was four pounds of heroin ingested in 100 pellets.

Airport authorities at the Dulles International Airport, say that 52-year-old Bola Adebisi ingested an incredible 180 thumb-sized pellets filled with heroin.

Airport officers became suspicious when she was questioned after arriving on Ethiopian Airlines flight 500 from Adis Ababa.

Adebisi claimed she was visiting her brother in the U.S., but she was unable give details of her "brother" and his address. A routine pat-down showed that her belly was suspiciously rigid, and an X-ray revealed to astonished officials that she had in her stomach 180 thumb-sized pellets with a total weight of five pounds.

Steve Sapp of the Customs and Border Protection, said: “We were kind of shocked and surprised at the sheer number of pellets she ingested.

We usually see men twice her size ingest about half of what she did.”

According to International Business Times, Adebisi broke a previous record for ingested drugs set on March 30, 2011, by another Nigerian man, 46-year-old Yomade Aborishade of Lagos, Nigeria, who was arrested for ingesting four pounds of heroin in 100 pellets.

The lady was taken to the hospital where overnight, she passed out all the pellets containing heroin worth an estimated 150,000 pounds.

Christopher Hess, director of Customs and Border Patrol for Washington D.C. said: "The amount of pellets and heroin this woman ingested is incredible, a serious health risk, and very troubling if these numbers become the new normal."

Authorities say drug mules often attempt to smuggle heroin and cocaine, and sometimes ecstasy by swallowing latex balloons, often condoms or fingers of latex gloves or other special pellets filled with the drugs and later recovered from faeces. It is a medically dangerous way of smuggling small amounts of drugs and a mule can die if a packet bursts or leaks before exiting the body. Statistics from 2003 show over 50% of foreign females in UK jails were drug mules from Jamaica, with Nigerian women making a large contribution to the balance.

Adebisi, according to MSNBC, will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

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Jamaica drug kingpin 'Dudus' Coke jailed for 23 years

Notorious Jamaican drug lord Christopher "Dudus" Coke has been sentenced to 23 years in a US prison, the maximum sentenced he faced.

Coke, 43, pleaded guilty to drug and gun-trafficking charges in August 2011.

A five-week operation to capture him in 2010 saw clashes in Jamaica's capital, Kingston, in which scores died.

His Kingston-based criminal organisation trafficked marijuana, cocaine and firearms and enjoyed protection from Jamaica's ruling party.

When Coke was first indicted in the US in 2009, Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding initially fought his extradition, arguing that it was based on flawed evidence.

Mr Golding's parliamentary constituency is in West Kingston's Tivoli Gardens, the district Coke's Shower Posse and the Presidential Click had controlled.

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“

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I am a good person”

Christopher Coke

• Jamaica divided on role of 'Dudus' Coke

But after months of delays and amid growing local and international criticism, Mr Golding agreed to extradite Coke and signed an arrest warrant.

Coke was handed 20 years on the trafficking charge and three for conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon.

Coke had written a letter to the judge ask for leniency, describing good deeds he said he did for slum-dwellers in Tivoli Gardens.

In court on Friday, he sat stoically in grey prison clothes, and briefly told Judge Robert Patterson: "I am a good person".

Prosecutors argued Coke terrorised and destroyed anyone who interfered with his drug operation, and several women abused by his gang in Jamaica begged the judge for a harsh punishment.

But many of his supporters in impoverished parts of Kingston describe him as a benefactor.

Earlier this week, prosecutors had said Coke was so powerful that he enjoyed "virtual immunity from the reach of law enforcement."

Coke's lawyer, Stephen Rosen, said he believed Coke would be released in his 60s and allowed to return to his home country.

He said his client will not appeal against the sentence.

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Woman nabbed with cocaine at P/Harcourt airport

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a woman identified as Mrs. Adaba Onitemi for allegedly taking in 839 grams of substance believed to be cocaine at the Port Harcourt International Airport.

The 54-year-old woman, believed to be a widow and a mother of six, was picked up while attempting to board Lufthansa Airline, en route to London via Frankfurt, Germany after she was suspected by officials

of the NDLEA at the Airport at about 8:30pm on Wednesday last week.

Mr. Olutekunbi Davies, the NDLEA Commander at the Port Harcourt

Airport while parading the suspect to newsmen in Port Harcourt yesterday, said the woman  was taken to the military hospital in the state capital where she was found to have ingested the substance.

Davies said the substance would be valued at N10 million, pointing out that no fewer than three drug suspects have been arrested in similar circumstances at the airport in the last two years.

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