India-bound businessman arrested with 9.40kg heroin at Lagos airport

The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a businessman, Kingsley Celestino, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos State, over 9.40 kilograms of heroin concealed in his two travelling bags.

Celestino, a business class passenger on Qatar Airline flight, was arrested on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport on his way to India.

The 49-year-old businessman, who hails from Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State, was arrested while travelling to India with a Guinean international passport.

The NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this via a statement issued on Sunday.

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Babafemi stated that preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect frequently travels to India on business class tickets, adding that he claimed he deals in clothing business between Nigeria and India.

The NLDEA spokesman stated that Celestino obtained the Guinean international passport in Guinea Bissau, where the suspect said his mother came from.

Reacting to the arrests and seizures, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the officers of the anti-drug agency for their efforts.

Marwa charged them and their counterparts across the country to intensify the ongoing mop-up operations to deny political thugs access to illicit substances ahead of the governorship and House of Assembly elections slated for March 11, 2023.

The Star