Posted by By Simon Ateba on
A 69-year-old grandfather, and father of six children and two wives, Adewole Emmanuel Eniola, who was arrested on Tuesday, by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, for ingesting 100 wraps of cocaine, has disclosed that poverty pushed him into the illicit drug business.
A 69-year-old grandfather, and father of six children and two wives, Adewole Emmanuel Eniola, who was arrested on Tuesday, by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, for ingesting 100 wraps of cocaine, has disclosed that poverty pushed him into the illicit drug business.
The grandfather, who resides at Adedolapo Street, Ikotun, Lagos, was apprehended by NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport during the screening of passengers going to London via a British Airways flight.
NDLEA, in a statement by Ofoyeju Mitchell, the Agency's Head Public Affairs, said that when the 69-year-old grandfather was picked up for drug trafficking, he kept claiming that he was innocent until he began to excrete the wraps of cocaine. This was after he was placed under observation.
P.M.News learnt that the grandfather, who says he is a carpenter and hails from Ondo State, claimed that he was travelling to the US via London to attend a furniture and accessories trade show in Florida.
After he was arrested, Adewole blamed poverty for pushing him into the illegal business. He said, 'I have a trade show in Florida and I also needed money to expand my furniture business. I bought the drug for N800,000, and I swallowed 100 pieces. N500,000 was my personal money while N300,000 was borrowed.
'The people that introduced me into the business promised to sell it for me over there if I had been successful. I only wanted to use the opportunity of the trade show to raise money through drugs because of bad living condition.'
Also arrested the same day, was Okoye Dozie Ndubisi, 37. He said he is a motorcycle spare parts dealer at Nnewi. He was picked up during screening of passengers on KLM flight, while on his way to Düsseldorf, Germany.
NDLEA said that the 1990 Senior Secondary School Certificate holder confessed to have ingested 60 wraps of cocaine and inserted 8 wraps in his anus. He disclosed that he would have been paid 3, 000 Euros after a successful trip. He has two children. Reacting to the arrests, the Chairman of the Agency, Ahmadu Giade, said that the suspects ought to live an exemplary life worthy of emulation by their children.
'He has not shown a good example for his children to emulate. Ordinarily, the suspect would have been given the benefit of the doubt based on the age, but when there is reasonable cause for suspicion, any doubt must be cleared. It is really sad for a grandfather, at 69, to ingest drugs. But he will be charged to court, the age notwithstanding, because the law has no respect for age,' Giade stated.