A 40-year-old Nigerian, Amobi Okoye, allegedly excreted 63 wraps of a substance believed to be cocaine while under interrogation at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Ikeja-Lagos, on Thursday.
Okoye while being Interrogate by official of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, also reportedly confessed to the ownership of the drugs.
The suspect, who was arrested at the departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, while returning to his Ancona base, Italy, where he has been living since 2009, reportedly claimed that he had turned a cocaine courier because of financial hardship
According to a report, the suspect was found in possession of the suspected drug weighing 1.030 kilogrammes
A report by the agency said the suspect, who was arrested shortly before he could board an Alitalia flight, said he was in Nigeria in search of a wife and decided to smuggle the drug to assist him financially.
The report said the agency’s airport commander, Mr. Hamza Umar confirmed the arrest, stating that the suspect was arrested with the assistance of the scanning machine.
He said: “A 40-year-old Nigerian living in Italy Amobi Okoye has been arrested for trafficking in cocaine.
“The suspect was nabbed with the assistance of the scanning machine. While under observation, he excreted a toal of 63 wraps of powdery substance weighing 1.030 kilogrammes that tested positive for cocaine. He is currently under investigation”.
The agency said the Enugu-born suspect had confessed that his involvement in drug trafficking was an after-thought.
It stated that the suspect has arrived in the country last December in search of a wife but had expended all his money and needed to return to his Italy base after which he was introduced to drug trafficking.
“They promised to pay me $4,000 in addition to all travel expenses. It was one difficult decision for me but one last hope”. he said.