Posted by By David Amuwa on
The National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 19-year-old undergraduate student and two other suspected drug traffickers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 19-year-old undergraduate student and two other suspected drug traffickers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The suspects, who were found to have allegedly ingested narcotic drugs, were nabbed at the screening point on their way to Amsterdam.
According to a statement from the agency on Thursday, the names of the suspects are Aderinola Olajide, 19, Francis Ayul, 33 and Michael Ojumo, 38.
The NDLEA Commander at the Airport, Alhaji Hamza Umar, said that the agency would continue to stop drug traffickers because their activities had tainted the nation's image.
'We will continue to fight drug barons and their cohorts from denting the good image of the country and from destroying innocent lives,' Umar said.
Aderinola, who lives in Aguda, Lagos, according to the statement, told officials of the agency that he is a 200 level student of economics at the University of Ilorin. But the agency said it was yet to contact the authorities of the school to confirm his claim.
He was caught on August 7, 2008 following a routine scan which indicated that he ingested narcotics. After the suspect was placed on observation, Aderinola excreted 93 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.5 kg.
According to Aderinola, who hails from Osun State, he requested N25,000 from a friend who asked him to carry the drugs and earn money for himself.
He was quoted to have said, 'It has not been easy financing my studies. This is my first time in the business.
'I did not even negotiate with the person that gave me the drugs. I only asked him for N25,000 and he introduced me into drugs that I will get plenty of money.'
Also, Ojumo was arrested on Monday, August 11, 2008 after allegedly ingesting 90 wraps of substances that tested positive for cocaine weighing 1.40 kg.
He lives in Holland with his wife and three children and works as a fork lift operator. He said that he needed money to take care of his mother who suffers from breast cancer.
'Please I did it because my mother is down with breast cancer. Do not tell my mother that I was caught with drugs. If she knows, she will die,' he pleaded.
The third suspect, Ayul who caught on August 4, 2008 for ingesting 87 wraps of substances that proved to be cocaine weighing 1.450 kg. Ayul, a school certificate holder, is a labourer in Spain.
'I indulge in this business because I need money to return to Spain,' he said.
The suspect hails from Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State.