Make-up artist travelling to India for fibroid surgery arrested with cocaine

Make-up artist travelling to India for fibroid surgery arrested with cocaine

A 43-year-old make-up artist has been apprehended at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, for attempting to smuggle 2.2 kilograms of cocaine concealed in her suitcase.

The suspect, who said she was en route to India for fibroid surgery, was intercepted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

This was disclosed in a statement issued Sunday in Abuja by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

The arrest, which took place on Monday, June 16, followed actionable intelligence gathered by NDLEA agents. According to Babafemi, the suspect had already checked in for her flight and was taken into custody while boarding a Qatar Airways plane headed to India via Doha.

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“Under surveillance, Adekoya was allowed to check in her luggage and arrested at the point of boarding her Qatar Airways flight to India via Doha.

“When her luggage was searched, two large parcels of cocaine weighing 2.20kg were found concealed in the walls of the suitcase she was carrying,” Babafemi stated.

The suspect, identified as Adekoya, reportedly confessed that she agreed to the operation for financial gain, masking the trip as a medical journey.

“In her statement, she claimed she embarked on the trip for financial benefits but under the pretext of going to India for surgery to remove fibroid from her stomach,” Babafemi said.

Further investigation linked the trafficking plot to a suspected drug kingpin.

In a separate operation, NDLEA officers intercepted a shipment of women’s clothing at a courier company in Lagos on June 19. The consignment was found to contain 1.3 kilograms of loud, a high-grade cannabis strain, destined for Bahrain.

On June 18, another drug bust occurred at a different logistics firm, where operatives discovered 850 grams of cocaine hidden inside clothing hangers being shipped to Australia.

Make-up artist travelling to India for fibroid surgery arrested with cocaine