NDLEA Apprehends Brazil Returnee with Cocaine, Declares Ex-beauty Queen Wanted
Agents of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) captured Udechukwu Ekene Theophilus, a returnee from Brazil, at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
Udechukwu had swallowed 60 parcels of cocaine, weighing a total of 1.279 kilograms, during his flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The agency disclosed this information in a statement released on Sunday, signed by Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media and Advocacy, and published on the agency’s website.
The statement said, “Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested a Brazil returnee, Udechukwu Ekene Theophilus at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos for ingesting 60 big wraps of cocaine.
“The suspect who was arrested during inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the D-Arrival Hall of the Lagos airport on Sunday 21st January 2024, initially refused to undergo body scan, raising health concerns in a desperate bid to evade arrest.
“When he was however offered other options, he accepted to be placed on excretion observation and shortly after he was ushered into NDLEA observatory, he excreted the first set of cocaine pellets, after which he expelled a total of 60 wraps of the class A drug weighing 1.279 kilogrammes in five excretions.”
The NDLEA reported that Udechukwu confessed in his statement that he had swallowed the consignment while in Brazil, intending to expel it upon arrival at the airport in Addis Ababa. However, he could only pass 15 pellets, which he then handed to another member of his syndicate before boarding his connecting flight to Nigeria.
Furthermore, NDLEA operatives seized 12 cartons of tramadol weighing 385.40kg from an overdue cargo at the SAHCO import shed at Lagos airport.
The tramadol had arrived in two separate shipments via KLM Royal Dutch Airline flights from Karachi, Pakistan, between July 27 and August 1, 2023.
In separate operations, NDLEA confiscated 822 kilograms of cannabis sativa in Yobe, apprehended suspects in Yobe, Kogi, and Kano states, and intercepted a truck transporting cannabis, tramadol, and diazepam pills on the Gombe-Bauchi road.
The agency also announced the pursuit of ex-beauty queen Ms. Aderinoye Queen Christmas, who managed to flee during a raid on her residence in Lekki. Cannabis and drug-related paraphernalia were discovered at the scene.
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The statement said, “Meanwhile, an ex-beauty queen, Ms. Aderinoye Queen Christmas also known as Ms. Queen Oluwadamilola Aderinoye has been declared wanted by the Agency after she escaped from her Lekki, Lagos residence when NDLEA operatives raided her apartment at Oral estate, Lekki on Wednesday 24th January following credible intelligence she deals in illicit substances.
“The suspect was Miss Commonwealth Nigeria Culture 2015/2016 and the founder of Queen Christmas Foundation.
“Recovered from her home during the search witnessed by the estate officials include 606 grams of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, an electronic weighing scale, large quantities of drugs packing plastics, a black RAV 4 SUV marked Lagos KSF 872 GQ, and her picture frame among others.”
Sunday Michael Owoborode and Valentine Anene, affiliates of an international drug trafficking network, were apprehended in Ogun state. Additionally, Sunday Adediran was captured in Lagos with 20kg of cannabis sativa.
