The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Paul Mbadugha, a businessman bound for Vietnam, at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) in Abuja after he tested positive for ingesting cocaine.
The arrest was confirmed in a statement released by the NDLEA on Sunday. According to the agency, the 54-year-old suspect was intercepted at the boarding gate of NAIA on August 12, during the outward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR 1432, which was destined for Hanoi, Vietnam, via Doha.
Following his apprehension, Mbadugha was placed under excretion observation for four days, during which he expelled a total of 88 wraps of cocaine, weighing approximately 1.71 kilograms. In his statement to the NDLEA, Mbadugha claimed to be a Lagos-based businessman. He stated that a friend in the Isolo area of Lagos gave him the cocaine pellets to swallow, intending for him to deliver them in Vietnam for a fee of $2,000.
In a related development, NDLEA officers at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted a shipment of “loud,” a potent synthetic strain of cannabis. The 800-gram package was concealed in a shipment of noodles destined for Congo. A follow-up operation at Alaba International Market in the Ojo area of Lagos led to the arrest of the sender, Nnamani Sunday Sunny, who is involved in the sale of GSM handsets.
Additionally, NDLEA operatives at Lagos airport recovered a large consignment of “loud” imported from Canada. The suspect, Desalu Temitope, who arrived on an Air France flight with six boxes, was apprehended by anti-narcotic officers during a joint examination by security agencies at the airport’s arrival hall. A total of 65.80 kilograms of the psychoactive substance was discovered in four of the six suitcases. In his statement, Desalu revealed that he and an accomplice, who remains at large, were promised $10,000 upon the successful delivery of the shipment in Lagos.
