In a dramatic turn of events, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have successfully apprehended a 59-year-old businessman, Chijioke Nnanna Igbokwe, who found himself in a life-threatening situation after swallowing 81 pellets of cocaine in an attempt to smuggle the illicit drug....CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING.>>
The suspect, who underwent surgery and exploratory laparotomy, was found to have 57 of the cocaine pellets still lodged in his stomach after seven harrowing days of ingesting the substance.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA director of Media and Advocacy, revealed the details of the operation in a statement, weekend, highlighting the close call the suspect faced during his smuggling attempt.
Babafemi said Igbokwe was arrested on January 26, 2025, upon his arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos. The arrest followed a routine inward clearance of passengers from an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
Upon arrival, Igbokwe was subjected to a body scan, which revealed that he had ingested illicit drugs. He was immediately taken into NDLEA custody for observation and medical monitoring.
Initial investigations indicated that Igbokwe, who claims to be a cloth businessman based in Oshodi, Lagos, had traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on January 22, 2025.
There, he ingested the 81 pellets of cocaine the following day, planning to deliver the illegal consignment to Beirut, Lebanon, for a fee of $3,000.
However, things took a turn when Igbokwe was denied entry into Lebanon due to not meeting the required financial threshold, with less than $2,000 in his possession. Subsequently, he was deported back to Addis Ababa. Attempting to excrete the drugs in Addis Ababa, he was unable to do so and made the decision to return to Lagos on January 25, still carrying the drugs in his stomach.
Despite being under observation for five days in Lagos, Igbokwe could only expel 24 of the pellets after initial medical intervention at both the NDLEA medical facility and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).
With his health deteriorating, and the complication of underlying medical conditions, Igbokwe was eventually admitted to LASUTH, where he underwent an emergency exploratory laparotomy on January 30, 2025. The procedure successfully removed the remaining 57 pellets of cocaine from his stomach.
A total of 81 pellets of cocaine, weighing 1.943 kilograms, were recovered from Igbokwe’s stomach. Babafemi stated that the suspect’s life was saved due to the swift medical response and the NDLEA’s dedicated efforts in tackling drug trafficking.
Meanwhile, in a separate operation, NDLEA operatives intercepted a major shipment of 2,000 kilograms of Ghanaian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, at Lekki Beach in Lagos on January 29.
The consignment was being loaded into a truck by two suspects, Sunday Awoyede and Christopher Cletus who were arrested on the scene.
