NDLEA intercepts drugs in noodles, businessman excretes 88 wraps of cocaine

Officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja Lagos, intercepted a shipment of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 800 grams, concealed in noodles destined for Congo.

This was revealed in a statement released on the NDLEA website. The agency stated that a follow-up operation at the Alaba International market, Ojo area of Lagos, led to the arrest of the sender of the consignment, Nnamani Sunday Sunny, a dealer in GSM handsets.

A Vietnam-bound businessman, Paul Mbadugha, was arrested by operatives of the NDLEA at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, after he tested positive for ingesting cocaine. The 54-year-old suspect was intercepted at the boarding gate of the Abuja airport on Monday, 12th August 2024, during the outward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR 1432 to Hanoi, Vietnam via Doha.

After four days under excretion observation, Mbadugha egested a total of 88 wraps of the illicit drug, with a gross weight of 1.710 kilograms. The suspect claimed he is a Lagos-based businessman and was given the cocaine pellets to swallow by a friend in the Isolo area of the state for onward delivery in Vietnam for a fee of $2,000.

Meanwhile, a large consignment of Loud imported from Canada was recovered by NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport. A suspect, Desalu Temitope, who arrived on board an Air France flight with six boxes, was arrested by anti-narcotic officers during a joint examination by security agencies at the arrival hall. A total of 65.80 kilograms of the psychoactive substance were recovered from four of the six suitcases.

In his statement, Temitope said he and an accomplice, currently at large, were promised $10,000 upon successful delivery of the shipment in Lagos.