The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said a Lagos driver was nearly charged over a package containing cocaine and methamphetamine on Sunday.

In a statement on Sunday, the NDLEA director, of media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the driver was given a bottle of fearless energy drink as a waybill package in Lagos for delivery in Ondo State.

Mr Babafemi, who noted that the driver took the plastic container as an energy drink, said that operatives of the agency discovered that it was used to conceal illicit substances.

He explained that the driver might have escaped jail because the operatives later traced and arrested the person who sent the package.

“When they say don’t judge a book by its cover, it’s for a reason. A commercial bus driver spent some time in custody and would have ended in jail because he assumed a bottle of fearless energy drink given him as a waybill package in Lagos to deliver in Ondo State actually contains energy drink.

“However, as this video reveals, the energy drink bottle was used to conceal Colos and Meth. He may be lucky to have escaped gaol because @ndlea_nigeria officers who made the discovery were able to track and arrest the person who gave him the package,” Mr Babafemi stated.

The agency warned drivers against accepting and conveying packages with undisclosed contents.

“Your own case may be devoid of such luck and you go in for it. As drivers or whoever, please avoid taking parcels you don’t know its content because possession makes you culpable, that’s the law and you go explain tire,” he added.

The development came hours after the agency intercepted a Milan, Italy-bound businessman with 4.80kg of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

Mr Babafemi said the drugs were concealed in the soles of shoes and the railings of travel bags.

“The substances tested positive for cocaine, with a combined weight of 4.80kg. During the interview, the suspect claimed he paid N16 million in cash for the cocaine in the shoes, while the consignment in the bags was meant for delivery to his partner in Italy,” he noted.

The latest incident underscores the need for commercial drivers to check waybill packages carefully before accepting them for delivery.