Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a 50-year-old businessman who allegedly ingested 90 wraps of cocaine at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

The Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

Mr Babafemi said that the suspect was intercepted on Wednesday at the arrival hall of the Enugu airport.

He said that the suspect was arrested during the inbound screening of passengers arriving from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on an Ethiopian airlines flight following months of intelligence and surveillance on him.

He stated, “The suspect was subsequently placed on excretion observation. He excreted 90 pellets of cocaine weighing 2.019kg. Investigation revealed that the suspect, who operates a phone and accessories business in Lagos and Gabon, Central Africa, travelled by road from Gabon to Douala, Cameroon. This was where he took a flight to Addis Ababa where he swallowed the pellets of cocaine while in transit and thereafter continued his journey to Enugu with Lagos as his final destination.’’

According to him, the suspect deliberately complicated his movement to distort traces of his travel history unknown to him that he has been on NDLEA watchlist for the past three months.

The NDLEA spokesperson said the suspect in his statement said he desperately needed the money from the criminal drug trade to boost his declining phone and accessories business.

In another well-coordinated operation carried out by a Special Operations Unit of the agency on Thursday, the spokesman said, the coordinator of a cocaine distribution cartel, a 42-year-old man, was arrested.

Mr Babafemi said that he was arrested alongside five of his associates at the Ago Palace Way in Okota, Isolo, Lagos.

He said that a total of 2.412kg of cocaine was recovered from them.

In a related development, he said, another alleged drug syndicate operated by a 58-year-old Chinese man has been dismantled by NDLEA operatives following his arrest at his hotel in the Ikeja area of Lagos.

Mr Babafemi said that officers of the Seme Special Area Command of the agency on Thursday intercepted a 40-year-old suspect.

According to him, the suspect was intercepted in a commercial bus going to Ghana at the Gbaji checkpoint along Badagry-Seme expressway based on credible intelligence.

Mr Babafemi said that when he was searched, a total of 750g of cocaine was found in his bag.

“A swift follow up operation was organised to trace and arrest the kingpin behind the trans-border drug trafficking syndicate, who turned out to be a Chinese citizen. He was eventually traced to MC Hotel behind Alade market, Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos,” he said.

The NDLEA spokesperson said when his hotel room was searched, 4.3g of cocaine; one gramm of methamphetamine; two electronic weighing scales were recovered.

“Other items recovered were Chinese National Identification Number Card, among other exhibits while he was arrested in the vicinity of the hotel,” he said.

(NAN)