Businessman arrested after surgery to remove 57 cocaine pellets
Abdullateef Fowewe
A 59-year-old businessman, Chijioke Nnanna Igbokwe, has undergone an emergency laparotomy to remove 57 out of 81 cocaine pellets that remained lodged in his stomach for seven days after ingestion in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Igbokwe, who narrowly escaped death, was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the arrival hall of Murtala Muhammed International Airport during passenger clearance on an Ethiopian Airlines flight on Sunday, January 26, 2025.
In a statement by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, a body scan confirmed the presence of illicit drugs in his system, leading to his detention for excretion observation.
The agency investigations disclosed that Igbokwe, a self-proclaimed clothing trader at Arena, Oshodi, Lagos, had departed Lagos for Addis Ababa on January 22.
He ingested 81 wraps of cocaine on January 23 before attempting to smuggle them to Beirut, Lebanon, for a promised fee of $3,000.
Babafemi wrote, “Upon arrival in Beirut, he was denied entry for failing to meet the minimum cash requirement of $2,000 and was deported to Addis Ababa. There, he attempted to excrete the drugs but failed. He subsequently returned to Lagos on Saturday, January 25, still carrying the illicit consignment in his bowels. However, NDLEA operatives arrested him upon arrival at Lagos airport on January 26.
“After five days of excretion observation, Igbokwe managed to expel only 24 pellets with initial medical intervention at the NDLEA medical facility and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja. With time running out and complications arising from underlying medical conditions, he was admitted to a tertiary hospital, where he underwent surgery to extract the remaining 57 wraps of cocaine. His wife and brother signed the necessary consent forms for the procedure on Thursday, January 30. In total, authorities recovered 81 pellets of the Class A drug, weighing 1.943 kilograms, from his stomach.”
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Lagos intercepted a consignment of 2,000 kilograms of Ghanaian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, at Lekki Beach on Wednesday, January 29.
Two suspects, Sunday Awoyede and Christopher Cletus, were caught attempting to load the illicit shipment onto a truck. They were arrested along with the skunk consignment and the vehicle.
In a separate operation on the same day, another suspect, Lawal Idris Olasunkanmi, was arrested with 55kg of skunk during a raid in the Mushin area of Lagos.
Across the country, NDLEA commands and formations continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy efforts, conducting sensitization lectures and visits to religious centers, schools, workplaces, traditional rulers’ palaces, and communities.
“The past week saw awareness campaigns in several schools, including Grand Light Model School in Ata Udosung, Akwa Ibom; Community Grammar School in Iganna, Iwajowa Local Government Area of Oyo State; Ebute Afuye Primary School in Epe, Lagos State; Akwakuma Girls Secondary School in Owerri, Imo State; and Federal Government College in Kebbe, Sokoto State. Additionally, the Kogi State NDLEA Command paid an advocacy visit to the Attah of Igala, HRH Mathew Opaluwa Oguche, at his palace in Idah.
“Commending the officers and men of the MMIA Strategic Command for their vigilance and professionalism in handling Igbokwe’s case, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), warned that drug traffickers not only destroy the lives of others but also put their own lives at great risk.
He also praised the Lagos State Strategic Command for preventing the massive skunk shipment from entering the country.
Furthermore, he acknowledged the dedication of NDLEA officers across the country in intensifying WADA social advocacy and sensitization campaigns, which contribute to the agency’s dual strategy of reducing both drug supply and demand,” the statement reads.
