The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 26-year-old nursing student, Esther Onyinyechi Uzodinma, for attempting to ingest 76 wraps of cocaine before her return flight to India.
The agency’s Director of Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed in a statement on Sunday that the 200-level student at Noida International University, Uttar Pradesh, India, was apprehended hours before her scheduled departure from Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano.
He explained that Esther was scheduled to return to Delhi, India from MAKIA Kano on Qatar Airways flight 1432 on Friday 17th January 2025 but was arrested in her room at 11:30 pm on Thursday 16th January at Royal Park Hotel Sabon Garin Kano, while awaiting the cocaine consignment she was to ingest before her flight the following morning.
Babafemi disclosed that Esther’s operation was uncovered after NDLEA operatives, on patrol along the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State on Thursday, January 16, intercepted a 31-year-old man, Cosmas Okorie, in a commuter bus travelling from Lagos to Kano.
Upon searching Cosmas’ belongings, officers found an audio speaker hidden inside a black polythene bag, which was used to conceal 76 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.34 kilograms.
He was reportedly en route to deliver the illicit substance to Esther in Kano.
“A swift follow-up operation in Kano led to the arrest of the female nursing university student later the same day, “Babafemi said.
In her statement, according to Babafemi, Esther claimed the drug cartel she was working for recruited her in India and paid for her trip to Nigeria to enjoy her Christmas and New Year holidays.
“To avoid her parents knowing she was in Nigeria, Esther did not travel to her home state, Imo but was lodged for two weeks in a hotel in Enugu, from where she was flown to Abuja and then Kano.
“While in Kano, she stayed at Royal Park Hotel, where she was instructed to ingest 76 pellets of cocaine sent to her from Lagos. She was scheduled to board a Qatar Airways flight to India on Friday morning.
She said she was promised over $5,000 upon successful delivery of the illicit consignment in India,” he explained.
In other operations according to the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA officers patrolling the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja highway arrested four suspects Abdullahi Umar, Tijjani Samaila, Lucky Obotte, and Abubakar Haruna who were travelling to Maiduguri, Borno State, Kano, and Abuja in commuter vehicles.
“The suspects were found with over 38,000 pills of tramadol (225mg, 250mg, and 100mg) concealed in audio speakers and clothing.”
