I carried drugs to pay my daughter’s school fees - suspect

A 28-year-old single mother and four other suspected drug traffickers have been apprehended over allegations of ingesting 398 wraps of narcotics.

The drugs, weighing 7.1kg, consist of 1.1kg of methamphetamine and 6kg of cocaine.

A press statement by the spokesman of the agency, Mr. Mitchel Ofoyeju, said the suspects were caught by men of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja.

According to the NDLEA Commander at the airport, Mr Hamisu Lawan, the suspects include a 28-year-old single mother, Udoka Peace Egbuchelam, who ingested 73 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 1.1kg; Ezechi Chinedu Nwabueze, 45, who ingested 95 wraps of cocaine weighing 2kg and Uzoukwu Uzomba Joel, 54, who ingested 85 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.5kg respectively .

Others, he said, included Obiora Boniface Okechukwu, 36, who ingested 91 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.6kg and Eze Onyebuchi Everest, 32, who swallowed 54 wraps of cocaine weighing 900 grammes.

Hamisu stated that apart from Udoka Peace Egbuchelam and Ezechi Chinedu Nwabueze, who were on board of Ethiopian Airline to Malaysia and Istanbul respectively, other suspects were said to have been caught during inward screening of passengers.

Meanwhile, the only female among the five suspects was quoted to have said that she wanted enough money to pay tuition fees of her 5-year-old daughter, hence her involvement in the illicit trade.

In her words,“I wanted to pay the school fees of my daughter. Since my arrest, I have been worried because I do not know how she is coping without me. The people that gave me the drug promised to pay me the sum of $2,700,” Udoka, a native of Imo State, stated.

The second suspect, Ezechi Chinedu Nwabueze, who is a trader in Benin Republic, said he was to deliver the drugs in Istanbul, Turkey.

“I am the only child of my parents. My problem began when my shop got burnt and nobody was willing to help me,” he stated.

Another suspect, Uzoukwu Uzomba Joel, who left Brazil with 85 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.5kg in his stomach, blamed his involvement in drug trafficking on frustration and sickness.

In his remarks, the Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, the single mother would be killed if she was caught in Malaysia, adding that drug trafficking into the Asian country was a capital punishment Malaysia.

While urging members of the public to avoid the illict trade, the chairman added that, “We are happy to prevent the untimely death of another Nigerian over drug trafficking.”

...........ADELOWO OLADIPO, MINNA/NIGERIAN TRIBUNE