NDLEA nabs businessman after surgery to remove 57 cocaine pellets from his stomach
A businessman simply identified as Chijioke Nnanna Igbokwe, has undergone an emergency laparotomy to remove 57 out of 81 cocaine pellets that remained lodged in his stomach for seven days after ingestion in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
59-year-old Igbokwe, who narrowly escaped death, was arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the arrival hall of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) during passenger clearance on an Ethiopian Airlines flight on Sunday, January 26, 2025
Investigation revealed that Igbokwe who claims to be into cloth business at Arena, Oshodi area of Lagos, departed Lagos on January 22 to Addis Ababa where he ingested the 81 wraps of cocaine the following day January 23 and boarded a flight to Beirut, Lebanon to deliver the illicit consignment for a fee of $3,000.
Upon his arrival in Beirut, he said he was refused entry because he had less than $2,000, the amount required to grant him entry.
He was then deported to Addis Ababa where he attempted excreting the illicit drugs but could not. He thereafter proceeded to Lagos on Saturday January 25 with the consignment in his bowel.
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He was however arrested upon his arrival at the Lagos airport by anti-narcotic officers on 26th January.
After five days under excretion observation, he could only expel 24 pellets following initial medical intervention at the Agency’s medical facility and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Ikeja.
With the clock ticking for him and the complication of other underlining medical conditions, the suspect was eventually admitted at the tertiary facility where he had to undergo exploratory laparotomy to extract the remaining 57 wraps of cocaine stuck in his stomach after his wife and brother endorsed the necessary consent forms on Thursday 30th January.
In all, a total of 81 pellets of the Class A drug with a gross weight of 1.943 kilograms were recovered from his stomach.
