A commercial tricyclist in
Owerri, the Imo State capital, and an Abuja-based trader have been caught by
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) officials at the Murtala Mohammed
International Airport (MMIA), Lagos with 6.390kg of substances that tested
positive for heroin.
One of them, Cajetan Chinedu Egwin, was arrested on arrival from
Kigali, Rwanda; the other, King Sunday, was nabbed on arrival from Nairobi,
Kenya.
The drug with an estimated street value of N575 million was hidden
in their luggage.
Egwin, 32, was caught with 3.900kg of heroin and Sunday, 38, was
found with 2.490kg of heroin
NDLEA Lagos Airport Commander Ahmadu Garba said: “Egwin arrived
from Kigali on a Rwanda Airline flight while Sunday imported the drug found on
him from Nairobi during inward screening of passengers on an Ethiopian Airline
flight. The suspects are being investigated.
“Preliminary investigation by the agency, however, indicated that
drug trafficking cartels are gradually changing their mode of operation by
turning to African countries in sourcing narcotic drugs like heroin. The
suspects were also recruited for a fee to import the drugs into the country.
Egwin who is not married said he needed money to repair his commercial tricycle
while Sunday who left his wife after four days of marriage under the guise of a
business trip said that he needed money for his honeymoon and business.”
Egwin, a commercial tricycle rider in Owerri told investigators
that he needed money to change his tricycle.
“The engine of my tricycle which is my only source of livelihood
is bad. While I was looking for money to fix it, I was introduced to the man
that promised to pay me N400,000 on the condition that I will bring his drug
from Kigali. I accepted the offer because nobody was willing to help me. Apart
from the repairs, my rent is due and my landlord has been asking for his
money,” he said.
Sunday said he made a mistake in dabbling to drug traffic stating:
“I erroneously took the decision to smuggle drugs barely four days after my
marriage. I was in need of money for my honeymoon and also for my business but
I should not have involved myself in drug trafficking. My thinking was that I
could smuggle the drug from Nairobi in two days without my wife knowing that I
travelled out of the country. All my life, I have been upright in my
transactions but this is a huge mistake and I regret my action.”
NDLEA’s Chairman/Chief Executive Col Muhammad Abdallah (rtd) said
drug traffickers were turning to African countries to smuggle heroin produced
in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Thailand and other far away countries.
”The Agency successfully foiled their plan with the arrest
and seizure of the drugs. Drug cartels thought it would be easy to smuggle the
drugs into the country since heroin is not produced in Africa but I am happy
that we are thinking far ahead of them,” he said.
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