NDLEA arrests Nigerian businessman from Brazil with ingested cocaine in his stomach

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said that a Nigerian businessman, Ezeokoli Sylva, based in Brazil, has returned home with 700 grams of cocaine buried in his stomach.

The agency said its operatives made the discovery following the suspect’s arrest at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

This was contained in a statement by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, on Sunday.

Babafemi disclosed that the 59-year-old Ezeokoli was arrested on Friday, 29th November 2024, at the E-Arrival hall of the Lagos airport upon his return from Sao Paulo, Brazil, on an Ethiopian Airlines flight via Addis Ababa.

“When he was taken for a body scan, the result confirmed that the suspect had foreign objects concealed in his stomach.

“As a result, he was placed under excretion observation, during which he expelled 29 wraps of substances that tested positive for cocaine, weighing 700 grams.

“In his statement, the suspect claimed he operates an African store in Brazil where he sells provisions, shoes, and clothes. He added that he bought the illicit consignment in Sao Paulo to resell in Nigeria with a view to raising substantial capital to boost his business,” he said.

Meanwhile, NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Investigation and General Investigation (DOGI), on Tuesday, 26th November, said they intercepted two consignments containing cocaine and pentazocine injection going to the United Kingdom via a courier company in Lagos.

Babafemi stated that while the cocaine, weighing 200 grams, was concealed in local fabrics, 40 ampoules of pentazocine injection weighing 110 grams were hidden in cartons.

Similarly, NDLEA announced that its operatives in Kano on Thursday, 28th November, arrested three suspects: Jamilu Adamu, 38; Umar Musa, 32; and Bunu Ali, 27, with 2,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 3,135,000 pills of Exol-5 at Gadar Tamburawa, Zaria road.

It also said that no fewer than 2,120 kilograms of Ghanaian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis produced in Ghana, were intercepted by NDLEA operatives at the Ilesan beach, Lagos, on Thursday, 28th November.

“A suspect, Onibogi Muftau, was arrested in connection with the seizure, while four vehicles that were to convey the shipments from the waterfront were also recovered. This came on the heels of the seizure of 472 kg of the same psychoactive substance at Idi-Iroko, Imeko area of Ogun state, on Monday, 25th November.

“In Edo state, two suspects: Monday Onyenemue, 60, and Evans Omogiede, 42, were on Thursday, 28th November, arrested, and 185.6 kg of cannabis, as well as a Toyota Previa bus marked BEN 06XL conveying the consignment, were recovered during an intelligence-led raid by NDLEA operatives at Ukuwague Street, Benin City,” the statement added.

Reacting to the development, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men of MMIA, DOGI, Lagos, Kano, and Edo Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures.

Marwa stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country, especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts, are well appreciated.