Photos : Four Smugglers Excrete 171 Wraps Of Cocaine At NDLEA Office

 According to reports, four suspected drug traffickers have excreted 171 wraps of cocaine after being placed under observation by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

 The suspects - Ejiofor Eliezer (46), Obah Francis (30), Akpa Sobuzochukwu (27) and 36-year-old Ike Okechukwu, according to NDLEA, were apprehended at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos after attempting to smuggle cocaine to Brazil.

 Eliezer, who excreted 100 wraps of the drug - the highest single ingestion since January 2015, told investigators that poverty pushed him to commit the crime, adding that he had intended to use the expected proceed to fend for his family of four.

“I live in Brazil, where I work in a supermarket and lived with my wife and four children. Life in Brazil is tough because I live from hand to mouth. It was poverty that made me to smuggle drugs. I took risk by swallowing 100 wraps of cocaine for N200,000 because of poverty.”

Francis

 Francis said he took to drug trafficking to augment the meager salary he earned at a bakery in Brazil.

“I am single and have been working in Brazil for two years. At present, I work in a bakery and my salary is meager. My plan was to give the drug to a friend in Dubai, but he did not come to collect the drug as planned. This was how I had to come to Nigeria with the drug. I blame my friend for my arrest because I would have made S15,000 (about N2.8m) from the deal.”

Sobuzochukwu, who holds a diploma in accounting, also said his poor salary as a cleaner forced him to ingest 26 wraps of cocaine for a fee of S1,500 (about N285,000).

 Okechukwu said he did not think that he would be arrested. He said he had thought that the five wraps of cocaine he ingested would not be detected.

 “I regret my involvement in drug trafficking. I dropped out of school in Junior Secondary School class two and I work in a toy company in Brazil,” he added.

 NDLEA Lagos Airport commander Hamza Umar said Eliezer and Francis were caught during screening of passengers on an Emirates flight; Sobuzochukwu and Okechukwu were nabbed during screening of passengers on a Qatar airline flight. They will soon be charged to court.

Popular Pastor Caught Trafficking Hard Drugs Worth Over N600m In Lagos

 The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Murtala Muhammed International Airport command, has apprehended one Prophet Michael Raji, a popular Lagos based pastor, for drug trafficking.

 It was learnt that Raji, who is pastors a white garment church at Ikotun in Lagos, was arrested at about 12pm on Monday while he was trying to smuggle 174 kilogrammes of narcotic drugs to South Africa.

 NDLEA said three international passports bearing different names were also recovered from him.

 A team later led Pastor Raji to the church, where bags containing 91kg of Methamphetamine and 83kg of Ephedrine with an estimated value of N609m were recovered.

 It was also learnt that a jeep was impounded during the operation.

 It was gathered that a preliminary investigation indicated that the suspect was a member of a wanted drug syndicate operating in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.

 The 60-year-old pastor told investigators that he was tempted to the act by the devil. He said, “I received the drugs from my friend and I kept them in the church since October 2014. This is a great temptation for me and I pray to God to overcome it.”

 NDLEA Commander at the airport, Mr. Hamza Umar, described the Pastor as a "smooth operator."

 Umar said, “The drugs were brought to the airport for export to South Africa. Investigation eventually traced the movement of the drugs to his church premises where he was arrested. He had three international passports bearing his photographs with the names Michael Raji and Kadigun Ola.

 “It was equally discovered that the church premises, where he ministers, also serves as a warehouse for narcotics. The seized drugs, concealed inside large bags of foodstuffs, were found to contain 91kg of Methamphetamine and 83kg of Ephedrine with an estimated street value of N609m.”

 The Chairman of the agency, Ahmadu Giade, said the seizure was phenomenal and promised that the pastor and his fleeing accomplices would be brought to book.