NDLEA arrests India-bound nursing student over attempt to ingest 76 wraps of cocaine

By: Michael Mike

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have thwarted an attempt by 26-year-old Esther Uzodinma, a 200-level student of nursing at the Noida International University, Uttar Pradesh, India, to transport 76 wraps of cocaine to the South Asian country.

Uzodinma had planned to swallow 76 wraps of cocaine hours before her return flight to India through the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.

The suspect, according to the spokesman of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday, was scheduled to return to Delhi, India from the Kano International Airport on Qatar Airways flight 1432 last Friday but was arrested in her room at 11:30pm on Thursday at Royal Park Hotel Sabon Garin Kano, while awaiting the cocaine consignment she was to ingest before her flight the following morning.

Babafemi said her lid was blown open when NDLEA operatives on patrol along Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi state last Thursday intercepted 31-year-old Cosmas Okorie in a commuter bus coming from Lagos enroute Kano. Inside his black polythene bag was an audio speaker, which was used to conceal the 76 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.340 kilogrammes, which he was going to deliver to Uzodinma in Kano. A swift follow up operation in Kano led to the arrest of the female nursing university student later same day.

In her statement, she claimed the drug cartel she was working for recruited her in India and paid for her trip to Nigeria to enjoy her Christmas and New Year holidays. To avoid her parents knowing she was in Nigeria, Esther did not travel to her home state, Imo but was lodged for two weeks in a hotel in Enugu, from where she was flown to Abuja and then Kano where she was lodged at Royal Park Hotel to swallow the 76 pellets of cocaine sent to her from Lagos before taking her Qatar Airways flight to India on Friday morning.

She said she was promised over $5,000 upon successful delivery of the illicit consignment in India.

In other operations along the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja highway, NDLEA officers arrested four suspects: Abdullahi Umar; Tijjani Samaila; Lucky Obotte and Abubakar Haruna, who were heading to Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, Kano, and Abuja in commuter vehicles with over 38,000 pills of tramadol 225mg, 250mg and 100mg concealed in audio speakers and cloths.

In Lagos, operatives of a special operations unit of the agency last Tuesday raided the hideout of a 59-year-old Nwokedi Jonas in Ojodu-Berger area of the state where they recovered 10 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 4.9 kilogrammes as well as different paper bags he uses in dispensing the psychoactive substance in retail quantities. Printed on them include street names and codes such as ‘Dead man’; ‘Gelato top shelf smoke’; ‘Topshelf’; and ‘Gelato cake’

In other operations in Lagos, operatives of the state command of the agency last Wednesday raided a house in Igando New Town area of Alimosho where they arrested three suspects: Isaac Vincent, 32; Ebube Ikechi, 25; and Christopher Usifoh, 43, from whom 1,610 kilogrammes skunk, a strain of cannabis and 6 kilogrammes pills of tramadol were recovered. Also recovered from the house were a delivery van and three other vehicles used for distributing the illicit drugs.

Babafemi said two suspects: Olashile Okoya and Mohammed Ibrahim were arrested on Saturday when NDLEA officers raided their home at 5A Addison Palmer, Cadogan Estate, Castle Rock Avenue, Osapa, Lekki Lagos, where 28 kilogrammes of Cannadian Loud were recovered following credible intelligence.

Not less than 67 kilogrammes skunk was seized from Saheed Sulaiman last Thursday when NDLEA operatives raided his Edumare street, Lagos Island hideout, while various quantities of assorted illicit substances were recovered from Adamu Abdullahi last Tuesday when Jerry Irabi Estate, Lekki hideout was raided by NDLEA officers. They include 3.7 litres of codeine syrup; 10,000 pills of tramadol; 1,670 tablets of rohypnol; 6.5 kilogrammes cannabis; 3,100 tablets of diazepam; 10,090 tablets of Molly; 5,500 tabs of Exol-5; 1.2 kilogrammes crisps of wrapped methamphetamine and a monetary exhibit of ₦623,650.00.

In Kano, two suspects: Usama Adamu, 25, and Isah Ibrahim, 29, were last Friday
arrested at Dawanau, Dawakin in Tofa local government area where a total of 7.6 kilogrammes skunk, 78 tubes of rubber solution and 356 bottles of ‘suck and die’, a new psychoactive substance were recovered from them. In another raid in Kano, Usman Isa, 29, was nabbed along Zaria road with 114 blocks of skunk weighing 49.8 kilogrammes.

Three suspects: Lawali Isiaka, Umoru Isiaka and Mohammed Kabiru were last Wednesday arrested by NDLEA operatives with 390 tablets of Molly and 65.5 kilogrammes of cannabis at Bode Saadu in Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State, while Samuel Ogbu, 24, was nabbed with 25,000 pills of tramadol by operatives along Wukari- Zaki Ibiam road, Wukari local government area of Taraba state.

In series of raids in Abuja, a suspect, Rufa’i Hashimu, 27, was arrested at Gwarimpa village area of the FCT with 118 bottles of codeine-based syrup, while 13 others were nabbed in other locations such as: Area 1 IDP camp, Gishiri, Zuba, Dei -Dei, AYA, Lagos Street Garki, Karu, and Lugbe. Recovered from them include different quantities of tramadol, diazepam, and methamphetamine.

With the same vigour, commands and formations of the agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.

Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) while urging his officers not to rest on their oars as they intensify their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.

NDLEA arrests India-bound nursing student over attempt to ingest 76 wraps of cocaine