A businessman heading to Vietnam, Paul Mbadugha, was arrested by National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) officials at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. The arrest followed a positive test for drug ingestion.
According to a statement released on Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Mbadugha had excreted 88 wraps of cocaine weighing a total of 1.710 kilograms. The 54-year-old was intercepted on Monday, August 12, 2024, at the boarding gate while attempting to board Qatar Airways flight QR 1432 to Hanoi, Vietnam, via Doha. Over four days of observation, he excreted all the cocaine wraps.
Mbadugha reportedly confessed that a businessman based in Lagos gave him the cocaine pellets to deliver to Vietnam for a payment of $2,000.
Babafemi said, “The 54-year-old suspect was intercepted at the boarding gate of Abuja Airport on Monday, August 12, 2024, during the outward clearance for Qatar Airways flight QR 1432 to Hanoi, Vietnam, via Doha. After four days of excretion observation, Mbadugha excreted a total of 88 wraps of the illicit drug with a gross weight of 1.710 kilograms.”
He continued, “In his statement, he claimed to be a businessman based in Lagos and that a friend in the Isolo area of Lagos provided him with the cocaine pellets to swallow for delivery in Vietnam for a fee of $2,000.”
