The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted two suspected drug traffickers attempting to smuggle heroin into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos and the Port Harcourt International Airport in Rivers State, excreting a total of 125 wraps of heroin.
According to an NDLEA statement on Sunday, officers at the Port Harcourt airport arrested Onyekwonike Elochuckwu Sylvanus, who also carried a Sierra Leonean passport under the name Kargbo Mohamed Foday.
The 30-year-old suspect was caught while arriving on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha, routed through Abuja to Port Harcourt.
NDLEA operatives discovered he had ingested illicit drugs, and during observation, he excreted 62 wraps of heroin, weighing 1.348 kilograms.
“He was subsequently taken for body scan which confirmed he ingested illicit drugs and thereafter placed under excretion observation during which he expelled a total of 62 wraps of heroin in five excretions, weighing 1.348 kilograms.
“Investigation reveals Onyekwonike Elochuckwu Sylvanus (alias Kargbo Mohamed Foday) alternates his two identities for different drug trafficking missions between Thailand, Pakistan, Iran and West African countries. He claimed to have gone full time into the illicit drug trade in 2017 when his clothing and shoe business went down,” the agency stated.