A
28-year-old woman, Augusta Onah (28), has been arrested at the Port
Harcourt International Airport by the operatives of the National Drug
Law Enforcement Agency for allegedly concealing a substance believed to
be cocaine in her underwear.
The NDLEA Commander at the airport, Mr. Olutekunbi Davies, told
journalists on Tuesday that Onah, who resides in Italy, was arrested
with 66 wraps of cocaine worth N12m on Saturday while attempting to
board an Air France aircraft to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
“The most surprising aspect of her arrest is the concealment of the
narcotics in her private part. This mode of concealment is very novel
to us in Port Harcourt International Airport; probably, it may not be
new to those in Lagos Airport,” Davies said.
Explaining that NDLEA decided to parade the suspect before
journalists so that it would serve as a deterrent to other traffickers,
Davies was worried that some Nigerians now see drug trafficking as a
short cut to riches.
On how she got into illicit drug business, Onah said she was
introduced into drug trafficking by one Helen in Benin, the Edo State
capital.
“It was my old-time friend, Helen, that gave them to me in Benin.
She (Helen) lives in Frankfurt, Germany. She wanted to assist me because
I told her I was having some financial problems,” she said.
The suspect, who said she had spent four years in Italy, added that
Helen had promised to give her financial assistance if she could
deliver the drugs in France.
Meanwhile, there was pandemonium in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday as some
hoodlums at a motor park on Ajilosun Road fought officials of the NDLEA
who invaded the park in search of drug peddlers.
After making some arrests, some hoodlums blocked the road and prevented the NDLEA officials from going away with those arrested.
Sources told journalists that the officials shot into the air and two people were injured by stray bullets.
But the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Victor Babayemi, told our correspondent on the telephone that nobody was injured.
He said, “It was true that NDLEA raided the motor park but they didn’t fire any shot and nobody sustained gunshot injury.
“What happened was that after
they had raided the place, some persons stopped them from going away
with those arrested. In the process of blocking them, two of the people
sustained injuries but not gunshot wounds. They have been treated and
discharged from the hospital. It was minor injuries.”
Babayemi added that the NDLEA officials called the police when the situation was getting out of hand. – via
Punch