~ Willy Okonji
LAGOS – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the recovery of 845 wraps of cocaine, weighing 18.72 kilograms, from an international drug syndicate operating between Brazil, Ethiopia, and Nigeria.
The drugs, with an estimated street value of N4.49 billion, were discovered on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa to Lagos.
According to a Sunday statement by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the cocaine packages were hidden in the aircraft’s rear lavatories.
“The drug consignments, worth N4,492,800,000, were concealed in two lavatories of the Ethiopian Airlines flight ET900 during post-landing cabin cleaning on October 29,” Babafemi revealed.
The contraband was “wrapped in nine polythene bags and concealed in the waste collectors of the two rear lavatories,” Babafemi added.
The NDLEA’s MMIA Strategic Command was alerted about the unusual packages, leading to the swift recovery of the drugs. Babafemi further disclosed that the agency has interrogated over 30 suspects linked to the seizure.
“No fewer than 30 individuals have been questioned as part of our investigation,” he said, underscoring the NDLEA’s commitment to dismantling international drug syndicates.
