7 days after ingesting illicit consignment, deported from Lebanon, apprehended at MMIA
A 59-year-old businessman, Chijioke Nnanna Igbokwe, underwent surgery, exploratory laparotomy, to remove 57 out of 81 pellets of cocaine lodged in his stomach after ingesting the illicit substance in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Igbokwe was apprehended by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, during inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight on Sunday, 26th January 2025.
He was subsequently taken for a body scan, which revealed illicit drugs in his system. Igbokwe was then taken into NDLEA custody for excretion observation.
Investigation revealed that Igbokwe, who claims to be a cloth businessman at Arena, Oshodi area of Lagos, departed Lagos on 22nd January for Addis Ababa, where he ingested the 81 wraps of cocaine the following day, 23rd January, and boarded a flight to Beirut, Lebanon to deliver the illicit consignment for a fee of $3,000.
Upon his arrival in Beirut, he stated that he was denied entry due to insufficient funds, specifically less than $2,000, which is the required amount for entry.
Subsequently, he was deported to Addis Ababa, where he attempted to excrete the illicit drugs but was unsuccessful.
He then proceeded to Lagos on Saturday, 25th January, with the consignment still in his bowel.
However, upon his arrival at the Lagos airport, he was apprehended by NDLEA officers on 26th January.
Following five days of observation for excretion, he was able to expel only 24 pellets after receiving initial medical intervention at the Agency’s medical facility and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja.
With time running out and complications arising from underlying medical conditions, the suspect was eventually admitted to a tertiary facility, where he underwent an exploratory laparotomy to extract the remaining 57 wraps of cocaine stuck in his stomach, after his wife and brother provided the necessary consent forms.
