A 38-year-old man, Okey Eze, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, with 350 wraps of cocaine worth over an N2.3billion in street value.
The suspect, a Mali-based tiler, was arrested on Wednesday, September 22, 2021, during an inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian airline flight number 911 en route Bamako-Addis Ababa-Abuja.
According to Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s spokesperson, the illicit drug weighing 7.70kilograms was concealed in eight packs tucked in different parts of his luggage.
In his confession, Eze said he traveled to Mali through Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, since 2019, adding that he came into Nigeria with the drug because he needed to raise money to take care of his late elder brothers four children.
The suspect also claimed he asked his friend who is resident in Brazil to assist him with some money but declined and instead told him to pick up a bag with the drugs from a friend of his in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a fee of N500k on successful delivery to someone whose contact would be sent to him on arrival in Nigeria.
He also said the bag containing the drugs was given to him on Wednesday morning at Addis Ababa airport.