Tobias Sylvester
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 44-year-old father of three, Gabriel Anthony Patrick, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
A statement issued by NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi on Sunday said the suspect was arrested for ingesting 96 pellets of cocaine, which he excreted in the custody of the agency.
Patrick, a native of Nike in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State, was arrested on November 26, 2021, during an outward clearance of Turkish Airline at the boarding screening area of the airport en route to Abuja-Istanbul-Madrid.
The statement reads, “He had travelled to Germany in 1996 for two years on asylum after which he relocated to Spain in 1999 where he currently holds a residence permit and works as a driver in a food manufacturing company.
“He claimed he came into Nigeria on November 17 to sell clothes and car spare parts he had shipped to Lagos.
“He, however, said he couldn’t sell his consignments, which cost him €4,000 excluding the cost of shipment because they were priced below the cost price at Ladipo Market in Lagos and he needed to travel back to Spain to resume work after the expiration of his annual leave.
“This, he said, led him to accept an offer to traffic the drug for which he would be paid €1,500 when he successfully delivers the consignment to someone in Spain.
“He claimed he left Lagos for Enugu to see his family members and then travelled on November 25 to Onitsha, Anambra State, where he was picked up from Upper Iweka park at night and taken to a house where he was given the 96 pellets of cocaine to ingest before leaving for Abuja to board his flight to Madrid in Spain the following day.”
The Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has commended the officers and men of the NAIA for their recent efforts.
He charged them along with their colleagues in other commands to constantly focus on raising the bar of their achievements until the last gram of illicit drug is taken away from every community in Nigeria.
KanyiDaily had also reported how a man was arrested for hiding cocaine in a toilet at the E-Arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos.
