Returnee from Thailand Arrested at Lagos Airport with Heroin Worth N3.1 Billion

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has reported the arrest of Oguejiofor Nnaemeka Simon Peter, a returnee from Thailand, for attempting to smuggle 13.30 kilograms of heroin into Nigeria. Continue Reading>>>

The drugs, valued at over N3.192 billion, were seized at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos.

In addition to this arrest, the NDLEA announced that its officers intercepted significant shipments of opioids at three seaports, with a total street value of N22.7 billion.

Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s Director of Media & Advocacy, released a statement on Sunday detailing Oguejiofor’s arrest on October 7, 2024, as he tried to move the illegal substances through the airport.

The heroin was hidden inside six backpacks, which were then placed in two large suitcases.

Oguejiofor, a 29-year-old Mechanical Engineering graduate from Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University in Uli, Anambra State, had left Thailand on October 3, 2024, on a Qatar Airways flight. He spent two days in Doha, Qatar, before traveling to Lagos, while his luggage was initially routed to Accra, Ghana, which was his intended destination.

The NDLEA statement explained that officers intercepted Oguejiofor when he tried to have his luggage rerouted from Ghana to Nigeria, hoping to collect the bags quickly to avoid thorough checks.

Upon searching the two suitcases, the officers found three seemingly empty backpacks in each case, with large parcels of heroin sewn inside the bags. The total weight of the six parcels was 13.30 kilograms.

In his confession, Oguejiofor claimed he was offered $7,000 to successfully transport the drugs, with instructions to deliver two parcels in Lagos and four in Accra, Ghana. Continue Reading>>>

In a separate operation, the NDLEA reported the seizure of over 32.6 million tramadol pills, valued at more than N12.5 billion, along with over 1.4 million bottles of codeine-based syrup, worth N10.1 billion, at the Lekki Deep Seaport, Apapa Seaport, and Port Harcourt Port Complex in Onne, Rivers State.

The agency highlighted that the total value of the seized drugs from the ports amounted to around N22.7 billion. The confiscated items were secured after the NDLEA, working with Nigeria Customs and other security agencies, conducted thorough examinations of flagged containers between October 7 and October 11, 2024.

On October 12, 2024, NDLEA officers in Anambra also arrested Okelue Chidera, aged 29, with 50,000 tablets of 200mg tramadol at Upper Iweka, Onitsha.

Meanwhile, in Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided a location used for transporting and loading cannabis in Aviose, Owan West Local Government Area (LGA), seizing 70 bags of cannabis weighing 1,050 kilograms. Additionally, on October 11, 2024, another raid in Owan Village, Ovia North East LGA, led to the arrest of a suspect, Monday Akele, aged 38, and the seizure of 110 kilograms of cannabis.