Francis Bawaba, a Spain-based Nigerian has been arrested at the
Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos with 6.49 kilogrammes of
cocaine, Nigeria’s anti-drug trafficking agency said on Monday.
“Attempt by the Nigerian living in Madrid, Spain, to earn N3.3
million (by) smuggling 6.490kg of high-grade Brazilian cocaine has
been nipped in the bud by anti-narcotic officials,” said Mitchell
Ofoyeju, spokesperson
for the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
Ofoyeju said the arrest of 32 year-old Francis Bawaba and the
seizure of the drug were made at the weekend by NDLEA officers at
the Murtala Muhammed international airport in Lagos, Southwest
Nigeria.
The 364 wraps of cocaine, valued at N72 million, were prepared for
ingestion and hidden inside his hand luggage, Ofoyeju said.
“Officials detected the drug during the inward screening of
passengers on an Etihad flight.
NDLEA Commander at the Lagos Airport, Mr. Hamza Umar was
quoted as saying: “Our investigation has revealed that the suspect
took off from Malpensa, Milan and collected the drug while on
transit at Abudabi. He had given us very useful information that we
are already working on.”
NDLEA quoted the suspect as saying that his concern was how his
pregnant wife and two children could cope in his absence. “This is
my first time of smuggling drugs and I was lured with an offer of
N3.3 million. I used to work in construction sites in Madrid to earn
a living but it has been difficult securing a job since the global
economic melt-down,” NDLEA quoted the suspect as saying. [NAN]
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