Canada-based nurse, businessmen nabbed over drug trafficking

Canada-based nurse, businessmen nabbed over drug trafficking

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested multiple individuals, including two businessmen and a Nigerian-Canadian nurse, over alleged involvement in drug trafficking.

Among the suspects is 51-year-old Ihejirika Emmanuel, who frequently travels to Thailand under the guise of importing fish. NDLEA operatives detained him on October 15, 2024, at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport, while he was attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Thailand via Addis Ababa.

In a statement on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi disclosed that a body scan revealed that Ihejirika had ingested cocaine. “As a result, he was placed under excretion observation, during which he expelled five large, egg-sized wraps of cocaine weighing 400 grams,” Babafemi stated.

The suspect reportedly admitted he was promised payment upon successfully delivering the drugs in Thailand, explaining that the funds were intended to support his fish importation business.

In a similar operation, the NDLEA arrested 26-year-old businessman Iwuagwu Victory at the Lagos airport on his arrival from Brazil via Addis Ababa.

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A body scan showed he allegedly had ingested cocaine, and he later excreted one pellet weighing 22 grams.

Babafemi claimed Victory confessed to swallowing 30 wraps of the drug in Brazil but had passed 29 in Addis Ababa, handing them over to another individual.

“The suspect revealed he was to receive ₦2.5 million for trafficking the drugs,” Babafemi added.

Another significant arrest involved Nigerian-Canadian nurse Usman Grace Olami, who was detained on October 4 at the Lagos airport during the arrival of Air France passengers from Toronto, Canada, via Paris. A search of her luggage revealed 70 parcels of synthetic cannabis, popularly known as Canadian Loud, weighing 35.70 kilograms.

Babafemi stated that the nurse claimed she had brought the drugs to Nigeria on the instruction of her boyfriend. “She said her boyfriend had asked her to deliver the consignment, which is highly sought after,” Babafemi added.

The NDLEA also conducted seizures at seaports and other locations. On October 15, officials intercepted 162,351 bottles of codeine-based syrup from two containers at the Apapa seaport in Lagos.

Additionally, a shipment at the Port Harcourt Port Complex in Onne, Rivers State, contained 7.2 million pills of Tapentadol and Carisoprodol, valued at ₦3.6 billion.

“Inside the same container, 15.6 million pills of chlorphenamine were found, while two other containers at the Onne port yielded 337,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup worth ₦2.35 billion,” Babafemi reported.

 

Canada-based nurse, businessmen nabbed over drug trafficking