Drug barons in crazy search for mercury in old-fashion gramophone

Wall clocks and gramophone radios used in Nigeria in the 1960s disappeared in the early 1970s. They are said to contain mercury which is capable of defecting the United States-made NDLEA screening machines used to detect drug concealment at major airports in the country. HOUSE TO HOUSE SEARCH This reporter encountered a young man moving […]

Wall clocks and gramophone radios used in Nigeria in the 1960s disappeared in the early 1970s. They are said to contain mercury which is capable of defecting the United States-made NDLEA screening machines used to detect drug concealment at major airports in the country.

HOUSE TO HOUSE SEARCH

This reporter encountered a young man moving from house to house in Suleja, Niger State in search of old clocks and gramophone radios to buy. He revealed that what he was looking for specifically in the items were 4A and 3A mercury.

Audu Takai, who claimed to have come from Jigawa state in search of the items, said, “When you succeed in getting the required gramophone radio with wooden body, you must open it and check the back of the speaker where you would find the mercury. You must also check the mercury to make sure it is the one with 4A or 3A inscription. Those two categories with those numbers are the only ones needed. The same type of mercury can be found in wall clocks with that iron rod that swings. Each of the two items with the required mercury is bought for N120,000.

USES OF MERCURY FUND IN GRAMOPHONES

“I have not found any. But my friends found and sold to the dealers. I escorted up to four of my friends who went to some Lebanese in Kano and sold to them. I started searching for those things for the past six weeks. I started my search from Kaduna state before I came here. I don’t know if anybody wants to use it to trade on drugs, but I know that they use it for many things, one of which is to smuggle items undetected. When you are carrying a large sum of money in a box and you put mercury inside the box, nobody can see the contents of the box.

“You know, there are some people who use charms to see through walls, into a box or even what you hide in your inner pockets while some use special eye glasses or machines to detect such things. I was told that when you keep such mercury in a box or container, no machine, glasses or charms can be used to see the contents,” he said.

Sunday Trust’s investigation revealed that many youths and traders have invaded rural and urban communities in search of old clocks and gramophone radios to purchase and resell to those who would extract the mercury in them, mainly to help conceal hard drugs which they export to foreign countries. Several suspected drug barons and couriers have been arrested at the nation’s airport with illicit drugs concealed in shoes, GSM chargers, hand luggage, can food, ingestions, in private parts by ladies and many other forms. Most of these discoveries were made with the help of the machines.

ndlea’s reaction

But the head of Public Affairs of the agency, Mr Mitchell Ofoyeju, said NDLEA was aware of the efforts by drug barons to counter their efforts by inventing means of trafficking in drugs. He said the screening machines being used by the agency to detect drugs concealment cannot be defected by mercury.

“We have received reports on the latest ploy by drug barons, but we are not perturbed because they have failed already. Our search techniques have exposed their tricks. The truth is that they (drug barons) have run out of ideas. The daily arrest of drug couriers attests to our unmistaken and lucid superiority. Perhaps, their latest trick is to deceive drug traffickers that they have what counters the detecting machines. That obviously is incorrect. The arrests are discouraging prospective couriers so they are trying to regain the dwindling confidence and lure more people into drug trafficking,” he said.

ndlea’s machine has not failed

Ofoyeju said despite assurances given to drug couriers by barons that the said mercury is capable of defecting NDLEA’s screening machines, he said the agency has not recorded any such failure. He said operatives of the agency at the Murtala Mohammed international airport, Lagos have arrested nine suspected drug couriers with large consignments of illicit drugs. He said among the suspected couriers arrested at the airport include two women aged 64 and 55 years respectively.

Confessions of a drug peddler

Meanwhile, one drug peddler who was arrested by NDLEA in Lagos has explained why he engaged in the illicit trade. Ekwunife Okechukwu said his main reason of smuggling cocaine was to get money for his traditional marriage ceremony slated for December, 2009. “My traditional marriage is on December 29, 2009. As we speak, invitation cards and other marriage materials have been distributed. I left three months ago and I told her that I will be back before December. I am a businessman. I buy shoes from the United States and sell in Brazil. My goods worth 4,000 euro which I supplied to a customer in Paraguay are yet to be sold and I am in desparate need of money. I just cannot explain how I got involved in this mess, but all I do know is that the marriage must take place next month as scheduled.

“Cocaine business is so frightening that visiting a friend in Brazil is a big risk. This is so because if you are arrested in a friend’s house and drug was found on you, you have a case to answer. I know that people deal in cocaine in Brazil, but, as for me, I only sell my shoes and occasionally I teach English Language and get paid for it because I understand Portuguese. I was in a cyber café in Sao’Paulo, Brazil when I met the man that introduced me to drug trafficking. After a casual introduction, I mentioned the issue of the goods I supplied in Paraguay for which I was yet to be paid. I also raised the issue of my forthcoming marriage. That was when he brought the option of drugs. I swallowed 75 pieces of cocaine for 1,500 dollars. I was vomiting while swallowing it because it was a bitter experience. I really need to do this wedding because I am committed to it,” Ekwunife stated.