Businessman caught with 74 wraps of hard drugs – NDLEA

BERTRAM NWANNEKANMA FROM GUARDIAN 

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 48-year-old businessman, Orizu Ifeanyi Arthur, who allegedly ingested 74 wraps of heroin and cocaine.

The suspect attempted to board an Air France flight 844 from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, to Paris, France. Orizu was arrested at the boarding gate of the Abuja airport on Sunday, December 22, 2024, during the outward clearance of passengers on Air France.

Spokesperson for the agency, Femi Babafemi, in a statement yesterday, said when the suspect was pulled aside for a body scan, he turned down the request, claiming his medical condition wouldn’t allow him.

Babafemi stressed that the suspect was thereafter taken into custody for excretion observation, during which he excreted a total of 74 wraps of the Class A drugs over seven days.

In his statement, Orizu claimed he owns a shop at Balogun Market, Lagos Island, where he sells school and travelling bags. He was promised €3,000 upon successful delivery of the consignment in Paris. He left his base in Lagos for the Abuja airport to connect his Air France flight to Paris, hoping to escape detection.