NDLEA arrests two Qatar-based drug traffickers, impounds meth consignment in Lagos

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two Qatar-based drug kingpins at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos.

The NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, listed the suspects as Eyah Nnamdi and Ugwuoke Oluchukwu.

He said the suspects were arrested after the agency’s operatives intercepted their methamphetamine consignment at the airport.

According to him, Oluchukwu was arrested on June 9 during the outward clearance of Qatar Airways passengers at the airport.

The spokesman said: “NDLEA officers accosted Oluchukwu who was travelling to Doha with an Ivoirian passport in the name of Hien Narcisse.

“A scrutiny of his black carry-on luggage led to the discovery of a false bottom concealing two parcels of crystalline substance that tested positive for methamphetamine and weighed 1kg.

READ ALSO: NDLEA recovers 390kg illicit drugs in Borno, Kano, 2 others

“Preliminary investigation showed that the suspect is a Nigerian who had obtained the Ivoirian passport for his travels.

“He confessed that he travelled to Qatar in August 2022 and returned to Nigeria in April 2023 to perfect arrangements for the movement of the drug consignment.

“A further probe led operatives to Oluchukwu’s Qatar-based senior partner in the trade simply identified as Murphy who was lurking around in Eziani, his hometown in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State.

“Oluchukwu, who hails from Igboeze North Local Government Area of the state, claimed he holds a National Diploma in Electrical Engineering.

“A prompt deployment of NDLEA operatives to Eziani community on June 10 led to the arrest of ‘Murphy’.

“His true identity was later discovered to be Eyah Celestine Nnamdi, who had lived in Indonesia for some years before relocating to Doha.”

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