NDLEA arrests South African with drug at Abuja airport

The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 29-year-old South African, Erasmus Jean–Pierre, with 2.6 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed in his luggage at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

The South African had concluded plans to export the illicit drug to the Middle East before he was arrested by the NDLEA officers at the Abuja airport on Wednesday, August 23, 2023.

The suspect was intercepted by NDLEA operatives during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 404 from Abuja to the Middle East via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The spokesperson of the anti-drug agency, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday, August 27, 2023.

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Babafemi noted that a thorough search of the suspect’s luggage led to the discovery of the whitish powdery illicit substance factory packed in different parts of the bag.

He added that preliminary investigation revealed that the South African arrived Lagos through Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, on Saturday, August 19, came to Abuja on Tuesday, August 22, and took possession of the brown bag containing the drug consignment on Wednesday, August 23, before heading to the Abuja airport for his flight out of Nigeria.

Reacting, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the anti-narcotics officers for a job well done and charged them and their colleagues across the country to intensify their drug supply reduction operations.

Marwa enjoined the NDLEA officers to balance that with drug demand reduction activities.

The Star