By IBIRONKE ARIYO

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested a Delhi, India-bound passenger at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja on March 31 for ingesting 80 wraps of cocaine.

Its spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi stated on Sunday in Abuja that the passenger was to board a Doha-bound flight en-route Delhi using a Liberian passport with the name: Carr Bismark, when he was arrested.

A body scan on the suspect revealed the ingestion of the illicit drugs, he explained.

Babafemi added that preliminary checks showed the passenger’s real name to be Freeman Ogbonna.

The NDLEA placed the passenger under observation and in a short while he started to manifest signs of discomfort.

“Obviously choked by the volume of illicit drugs in his stomach and another substance taken to hold back excretion, the suspect soon began to retch, vomited and excreted wraps of cocaine simultaneously.

“The suspect who claimed he was recruited into drug trafficking by one of his relatives, eventually passed out a total of 80 wraps of cocaine.

“He vomited or excreted the drugs, weighing 889gms over a period of four days.

“The great risk almost took his life.

“Ogbonna said he was given the drugs to swallow at a hotel in Ikeja with a promise of N300,000 reward if he successfully delivers the consignment in India,’’ Babafemi stated.

Also on April 3, the NDLEA arrested a drug mule at the airport on his way to Oman.

Its operatives discovered a false bottom in his backpack and on the sides concealing illicit drugs and also swiftly moved in on a man who accompanied the suspect to the airport.

The second man was later discovered to have been the one who recruited the passenger to traffic the drugs.

“The suspect said he returned from Dubai some years ago, but still had a valid residence permit on his passport.

“He claimed he was promised N1.5 million if he successfully delivered the consignment in Oman, while his recruiter, was to be paid N200,000.

“A charm was found in one of the passenger’s bags when they were searched and another was found on his person.

“The drug mule confessed that he travelled to Ibadan earlier where a cleric made the charms for him to evade arrest during the trip.

“Another charm was found on the recruiter who claimed the charms were procured at a cost of N70,000,’’ Babafemi added. (NAN)