A 44-year-old man, Taiwo Omidiya, has been arraigned by the Lagos State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,NDLEA at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos state for swallowing 87 wraps of the suspected cocaine and heroin and hiding the remaining ones in his pants.
Following his arrest, the NDLEA authorities forced him to excrete the swallowed 87 wraps of the substance which he eventually did.
Omidiya who worked in an automobile company in Spain according to a Punch report on Wednesday, December 24, 2014 was put under check by the operatives after some wraps of cocaine and heroin were found in his underwear.
Three other suspects including Chidi Igwe,24, Charles Anikwe ,25, and a 44-year-old Basil Agomo were nabbed alongside Omidiya for being in possession of narcotic substances that had methamphetamine and cocaine.
Confessing the crime, Omidiya said, “I have been living in Spain for the past 14 years where I work with an automobile company. My friend in Barcelona requested that I bring the drugs to Spain. He even contacted somebody who gave me the drugs in Lagos. After swallowing 87 wraps, I hid the remaining in my underwear because the wraps were many. I was sad when the drugs were detected at the airport because I would have made a fortune from them.”
On the other hand, the other suspect, Igwe, who was arrested on his way to Cyprus where he wanted to continue his studies said, “I got admission two months ago to study Tourism and Hotel Management in Cyprus. While in Nigeria, a friend in Cyprus called me to bring narcotics for a fee of E5, 000 (about N1.4m). I wanted to use the money to settle my fees and buy books for my study. This is a big setback for my career.”
The third suspect, Anikwe, an attendant in a hotel, said a customer had lured him into the crime after deceiving him that he was helping him to further his studies in Malaysia.
Anikwe said, “I was working as a hotel attendant in Lagos when a customer asked me if I was a graduate. I told him that I had five credits, but could not further my education because of lack of finance. He promised to help me and used to give me money any time he came around.
“He later called me that he has completed my admission to further my studies in Malaysia. That was how he paid my travel expenses and gave me a bag to take to Malaysia. He said his friend would collect the bag from me and assist me with my school admission. Unfortunately, a drug was found inside the handle of the bag he gave me.”
The other suspect, Agomuo, a farmer from Imo State, said, “A friend invited me to Pakistan. He promised to help me secure a good job. When I got to Pakistan, he told me there was no job, but that I should take drugs to Nigeria. He promised to give me N500, 000 to start a business. Since life was becoming unbearable I decided to take the risk.”
Confirming the arrest, the NDLEA Commander at the MMIA, Mr. Umar Hamza, disclosed that a total of 6.1 kilogrammes of drugs were recovered from the suspects.
Furthermore, the chairman of the agency, Mr. Ahmadu Giade, reinstated the resolve of the agency to continually nab and prosecute drug traffickers in the country.
