The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), announced that its operatives on Tuesday, February 24, 2015 arrested a Johannesburg, South Africa-based Nigerian, Okonkwo Isaac Ekemezie allegedly attempting to smuggle 36.850 kilogrammes of illegal narcotics to South Africa at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Ekemezie, who was apprehended during outward screening of an Ethiopian Airlines flight was said to have had methamphetamine weighing 17.7 kilograms and 19.15 kilograms of ephedrine, with an estimated value of N120 Million.
Hamisu Lawan, the NDLEA Commander at Abuja airport said: “Drug traffickers are always experimenting with new routes all in a bid to evade arrest by law enforcement officers.
“By our record at this airport, South Africa is not a common route for drug traffickers. Mr. Okonkwo Isaac Ekemezie is a suspected member of a drug trafficking cartel in South Africa where he lives.
“His mission was to come to Nigeria to facilitate the exportation of 36.850kg of narcotics to South Africa. That criminal action was, however, aborted because of the vigilance of our officers.”
