NDLEA arrests Saudi-bound woman with 80 pellets of cocaine at Abuja airport

A woman heading to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for Umrah (Lesser Hajj) has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for allegedly ingesting 80 pellets of cocaine.

The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, who disclosed this in a statement on Monday, said the woman was arrested on November 24 during an outward clearance of Qatar Airways flight 1418 at the airport’s boarding screening area.

He added that the 46-year-old woman simply identified as Mrs. Adisa Afusat Olayinka lives in Ibafo, Ogun State, but hails from Ilorin, Kwara State.

Babafemi said: “The woman was arrested on Wednesday, November 24, at the boarding screening area of the airport during an outward clearance of Qatar Airways flight 1418.

“She was subsequently taken into custody where she excreted 80 pellets of the illicit drug between Wednesday and Saturday, November 27.

READ ALSO: NDLEA intercepts 12,385kg illicit drugs in Lagos

‘The suspect during interviews by the NDLEA explained that she saved N2.5 million over one year to buy the drugs in bits from six different people at Akala, Mushin area of Lagos.

“The suspect also said she was trading in clothes but had to borrow N1 million from three persons to make up the money used to buy the drugs. The woman confessed to our operatives spent another N1 million to renew her passport, visa, and buy return flight tickets.

“Olayinka said she was encouraged to traffic the drugs by a woman she met during her last Umrah trip to Saudi Arabia in 2019. She added that she needed to raise N7million for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment due to pressure from people because she’s been married for 28 years without a child.”

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