Okolo Emenike. a 34-year-old motorcycle parts dealer has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) with 9.150kg of cocaine concealed in the soles of foot wears being imported into the country.
Emenike was arrested at the weekend, during the inward screening of passengers on a Turkish airline flight from Brazil, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, the Vanguard is reporting.
NDLEA Commander at the Abuja Airport, Hamisu Lawan, puts the estimated value of the drug at £3.8m pound.
Lawan said: “The discovery was made in a shipment of shoes during inward screening of passengers on a Turkish airline flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil. The cocaine was industrially concealed in the soles of new foot wears.”
Emenike confessed that he was offered N1 million to smuggle the drugs into Nigeria. Emenike said he left Nigeria for a better life in Brazil. However, he said, “things became worse for me as I could not get a job. I had no money to sustain myself while my work permit was being processed.
“I was equally confronted with the fear of deportation. This made me desperate for quick wealth. In the process, I met my childhood friend, who offered me N1million to traffic cocaine to Nigeria.
“He also paid for my ticket and gave me three bags of shoes containing the cocaine. But on arrival at the Abuja airport, the cocaine was detected and I was arrested. I had wanted to invest money offered to me in my business that failed due to recession.”
Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (retd.) who commended his men for the arrest, stated that the huge profit derived from drug trafficking had made it a top priority for drug cartels to be financially incapacitated.
He said: “We must continue to take deliberate steps to intercept drugs and ultimately prevent the criminal enrichment of drug cartels. Illicit drug proceeds negatively affect economic development; it could be used to corrupt government officials and for terrorism funding thereby subjecting mankind to widespread destruction.”