Why I ingested 100 wraps of cocaine for N200, 000, says suspect

Eliezer

One of the four suspects, who ingested 100 wraps of substance suspected to be cocaine, has confessed that that poverty compelled him to take the risk.

The suspect, Ejiofor Eliezer, 46, said he would have been paid a mere N200, 000, if he had succeeded in smuggling the drugs to its destination.

Ejiofor said: “I live in Brazil where I work in a supermarket and I’m married with four children. I attended Central School Ukpor. After my primary education, I could not study further due to lack of money. Life in Brazil is tough because I live from hand to mouth. I have no savings. In fact, it was poverty that made me to smuggle drugs. I took risk by swallowing 100 wraps of cocaine for N200, 000 because of poverty.”

Francis

The other suspects are Obah Ifeanyi Francis, 30, Akpa Cornelus Sobuzochukwu, 27 and Ike Vincent Okechukwu, 36.

The four suspects were arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos.

According to NDLEA spokesman, Mitchel Ofoyeju, the arrests were recorded on Brazil-Nigeria route which had become notorious for cocaine smuggling.

He said: “The suspects tested positive for cocaine ingestion and were placed under observation until the drugs were expelled.”

NDLEA Commander at the Lagos Airport, Mr. Hamza Umar said that the suspects ingested 171 wraps of cocaine weighing 4.19kg.  

Umar further said: “Eliezer ingested 100 wraps of cocaine weighing 2.155kg. This is the highest single ingestion since January 2015. Francis ingested 40 wraps weighing 740 grammes, while Sobuzochukwu ingested 26 wraps weighing 445 grammes. Another suspect, Okechukwu swallowed five wraps weighing 85 grammes.”

Ofoyeju said that Eliezer and Francis were caught during screening of passengers on an Emirates flight while Sobuzochukwu and Okechukwu were nabbed during screening of passengers on Qatar airline flight.

Francis said that he wanted to make quick money from cocaine trafficking but his friend disappointed him.

His words: “I’m single and had been working in Brazil for two years. At present, I work in a bakery and my salary is meagre. My plan was to give the drug to a friend in Dubai but he did not come to collect the drug as planned. This was how I had to come to Nigeria with the drug. I blame my friend for my arrest because I would have made 15,000 dollars from the deal.”

Sobuzochukwu who holds a diploma in accounting said that he was frustrated working as a cleaner with poor salary.

He stated: “I hold a diploma in Accounting from Institute of Management Technology Enugu. I traveled to Brazil in search of better job but I ended up as a cleaner in a train station. My father is sick and I cannot afford return ticket to Nigeria let alone pay the hospital bill. I know I made a big mistake but I smuggled cocaine out of frustration. I would have been paid 1,500 dollars.”

Okechukwu said that his arrest was a mistake from him. “My arrest was a miscalculation. I thought that the five wraps of cocaine would not be detected. I regret my involvement in drug trafficking. I dropped out of school in Junior Secondary School class two and I worked in a toy company in Brazil.”