NDLEA arrests Brazil returnee with cocaine, declares ex-beauty queen wanted

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have apprehended Udechukwu Ekene Theophilus, a Brazil returnee, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. Udechukwu ingested 60 wraps of cocaine, totaling 1.279 kilograms, on a flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

This was made known in a statement signed by the Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, and posted on the agency website on Sunday.

The statement said, “Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested a Brazil returnee, Udechukwu Ekene Theophilus at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos for ingesting 60 big wraps of cocaine.

“The suspect who was arrested during inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the D-Arrival Hall of the Lagos airport on Sunday 21st January 2024, initially refused to undergo body scan, raising health concerns in a desperate bid to evade arrest.

“When he was however offered other options, he accepted to be placed on excretion observation and shortly after he was ushered into NDLEA observatory, he excreted the first set of cocaine pellets, after which he expelled a total of 60 wraps of the class A drug weighing 1.279 kilogrammes in five excretions.”

NDLEA said Udechukwu claimed in his statement that he ingested the consignment in Brazil and was to discharge everything at the airport in Addis Ababa but could only excrete 15 pellets which he handed over to another member of his syndicate before his connecting flight to Nigeria was called.

Additionally, NDLEA operatives recovered 12 cartons of tramadol weighing 385.40kg from an overstayed cargo at the SAHCO import shed at Lagos airport. The tramadol arrived in two batches on KLM Royal Dutch Airline flights from Karachi, Pakistan, between July 27 and August 1, 2023.

In separate operations, NDLEA seized 822 kilograms of cannabis sativa in Yobe, arrested suspects in Yobe, Kogi, and Kano states, and intercepted a truck carrying cannabis, tramadol, and diazepam pills in Gombe-Bauchi road.

The agency also declared ex-beauty queen Ms. Aderinoye Queen Christmas wanted after she escaped during a raid on her Lekki residence, where cannabis and drug-related items were found.

The statement said, “Meanwhile, an ex-beauty queen, Ms. Aderinoye Queen Christmas also known as Ms. Queen Oluwadamilola Aderinoye has been declared wanted by the Agency after she escaped from her Lekki, Lagos residence when NDLEA operatives raided her apartment at Oral estate, Lekki on Wednesday 24th January following credible intelligence she deals in illicit substances.

“The suspect was Miss Commonwealth Nigeria Culture 2015/2016 and the founder of Queen Christmas Foundation.

“Recovered from her home during the search witnessed by the estate officials include 606 grams of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, an electronic weighing scale, large quantities of drugs packing plastics, a black RAV 4 SUV marked Lagos KSF 872 GQ, and her picture frame among others.”

Members of an international drug trafficking syndicate, Sunday Michael Owoborode and Valentine Anene, were also arrested in Ogun state, while Sunday Adediran was apprehended in Lagos with 20kg of cannabis sativa.