A 50-year-old businessman, Osuoha Christian Iheanacho, has been arrested at Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) in Enugu for attempting to smuggle 90 wraps of cocaine. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) apprehended Osuoha on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, during an inbound screening of passengers arriving from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. His arrest followed months of intelligence and surveillance.
After being intercepted, Osuoha was placed under excretion observation and eventually expelled 90 cocaine pellets, totaling 2.019 kilograms, in seven separate excretions.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi explained that Osuoha, who runs a phone and accessories business in both Lagos and Gabon, had traveled by road from Gabon to Douala, Cameroon, before flying to Addis Ababa. He swallowed the cocaine pellets while in transit and continued his journey to Enugu, with Lagos as his final destination. Babafemi added that despite Osuoha’s efforts to complicate his travel route to evade detection, he had been under NDLEA surveillance for three months.
In his statement, Osuoha revealed that he had resorted to the drug trade to secure funds for his struggling business.
