Cocaine in ‘ice cream’ intercepted at Lagos airport

NDLEA Commander at the airport, Hamza Umar, who confirmed the arrest and seizure, noted that it is the first seizure of creamy cocaine ever recorded in the country and said the cocaine weighing 9.500 kilograms was concealed in ice cream form to evade detection and subsequent seizure by his men.   “The cocaine which looks […]

NDLEA Commander at the airport, Hamza Umar, who confirmed the arrest and seizure, noted that it is the first seizure of creamy cocaine ever recorded in the country and said the cocaine weighing 9.500 kilograms was concealed in ice cream form to evade detection and subsequent seizure by his men.

 

“The cocaine which looks like ice cream was being smuggled into the country in four big coolers by a suspected drug trafficker who is currently facing trial over unlawful importation of a kilogram of cocaine from Brazil in 2010. The re-arrest of the suspected drug trafficker aged 50 year old was first arrested in 2010 for allegedly trafficking in cocaine. He was arraigned before a court that released him on bail. He is on bail when he traveled out and allegedly smuggled in this consignment.

“The suspect, Martin Ikechukwu was on his way from Sao Paulo, Brazil. We detected the drug following suspicion on the four giant size water coolers. Further examination revealed the parcels of drugs after they were cut open. Each of the for four parcels were found to have been industrially strapped round the body. In all 16 parcels weighing 9.500 kilograms with an estimated street value of N90 million were recovered during search at the arrival hall of the airport.

“The command has been grappling with the re-arrest of suspected drug traffickers who are released on bail. The re-arrest of persons undergoing trial for drug related charges is one of our numerous challenges. This suspect was first arrested on February 23, 2010 for allegedly ingesting one kilogram of cocaine and there are several cases like this,” Hamza noted.

The suspect, Martin Ikechukwu, told Weekly Trust that he hails from Enugu State. He said he was actually arrested by the NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport in 2010 for importing cocaine and charged to court before he was released on bail. It was while on bail that he traveled out and imported a larger quantity of cocaine in ice cream form.

“I travelled to Brazil in 2009 and was managing a restaurant to earn a living. Unfortunately, I was arrested when I came home in 2010. When I was granted bail, there was nobody to help me. I had no option than to smuggle drugs again, because they promised to pay me N3 million. My intention was to settle down with my family with the N3 million if I had succeeded, because I am not getting younger.

“I was confident I was going to scale through with it, because of the neat and clean way it was concealed. Yes, I attended Army Children Primary School, Ibadan, Oyo State and Government Technical College, Awka in Anambra State and graduated in 1980. In fact, I just wanted to raise some money to enable me to settle down with my family. This would have been my last trip,” he said.

Chairman of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade said the arrest shows the extent to   drug barons   go to conceal drugs from being detected. He lamented the continued involvement of Nigerians in drug trafficking, warning that his men would continue to detect any form of concealment by drug barons and traffickers.

“While this arrest reflects the level of desperation by drug barons, it has also raised questions on bail for drug traffickers. Certainly, the accused is unrepentant and has shown no remorse, because he was first caught with a kilogram and went back to smuggle 9.500 kilograms of cocaine even when the first case is ongoing. We shall pursue this case to a logical conclusion and use it as a deterrent to others,” Giade said.

The anti-narcotic boss said the agency is also investigating the circumstances under which the suspect acquired new travel documents as well as his accomplices. He said fresh facts have been uncovered by the investigating team even as efforts are ongoing to bring all culprits to justice.

The NDLEA Head, Public Affairs, Ofoyeju Mitchell who said the suspect would soon be charged to court, recalled that hard drugs industrially concealed in can food, can milk, auto spare parts, shoes, bags, in coins, in furniture, electronics, handset chargers and other advanced methods of concealments were detected at the airport by the agency’s operatives.

Hamza had in an earlier interview with Weekly Trust confirmed that Lagos airport is the major entry and departure point of hard drugs in the country, saying over 90 percent of all drug couriers that attempt to smuggle drugs through the airport are arrested by his men while those that succeed in passing as a result of human error are arrested abroad just as his men are also arresting drugs that slip from narcotic operatives abroad.

“Some of them (drug cartels) are in West Africa with some of their members that are based here in Nigeria and yet have nothing to do with Europe. We have the West African region. You find them in Nigeria, Ghana and other West African countries with a chain of activities within the region. Initially, they were dealing in cannabis but now they also engage in hard drugs like cocaine and heroin.

“We also have those Africans that are based in Europe. Those ones do not even come to Africa even though they are Africans. You find them moving drugs from Eastern part of Europe to the West or even within the Western part but majorities of them are Nigerians. Go to countries like Switzerland, you find a large number of them. You hardly find any of them that pass through this airport with drugs. They are based there and they trade on drugs there.

“When you go to Brazil, you find a very big prison mainly for Nigerian drug traffickers. These Nigerian did not pass through Murtala Mohammed International Airport to take to Brazil, no! They are based there in the drug-sourced-countries. They source the drugs there and bring to Africa, Europe or America. The barons, the big guys are based there. They hardly travel out. And if they must, they do not carry drugs. They recruit poor boys and girls, most of whom are Nigerians, to carry the drugs for them,” he said.