It was learnt that the suspects ─
Ejiofor Eliezer (46), Obah Francis (30), Akpa Sobuzochukwu (27) and 36-year-old
Ike Okechukwu ─ excreted 171 wraps of drug that tested positive for cocaine.
Punch Metro gathered that the
discovery was made during the screening of passengers on board Qatar and
Emirates airlines.
Eliezer, who excreted 100 wraps of
the drug, told investigators that poverty pushed him to commit the crime,
adding that he had intended to use the expected proceed to fend for his family
of four.
“I live in Brazil, where I work in
a supermarket and lived with my wife and four children. Life in Brazil is tough
because I live from hand to mouth. It was poverty that made me to smuggle
drugs. I took risk by swallowing 100 wraps of cocaine for N200,000 because of
poverty.”
Francis said he took to drug
trafficking to augment the meager salary he earned at a bakery in Brazil.
“I am single and have been working
in Brazil for two years. At present, I work in a bakery and my salary is
meager. My plan was to give the drug to a friend in Dubai, but he did not come
to collect the drug as planned. This was how I had to come to Nigeria with the
drug. I blame my friend for my arrest because I would have made S15,000 (about
N2.8m) from the deal.”
Sobuzochukwu, who holds a diploma
in accounting, also said his poor salary as a cleaner forced him to ingest 26
wraps of cocaine for a fee of S1,500 (about N285,000).
Okechukwu said he did not think
that he would be arrested. He said he had thought that the five wraps of
cocaine he ingested would not be detected.
“I regret my involvement in drug
trafficking. I dropped out of school in Junior Secondary School class two and I
work in a toy company in Brazil,” he added.
The NDLEA Chairman, Ahmadu Giade,
said Brazil-Nigeria route was a high risk path to drug trafficking and urged
officers to be vigilant.
“The suspects will soon be charged
to court,” Giade added.
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