Two men, Chinweuba Echezona and
Ekwueme Louis, suspected to be drug peddlers are currently in custody of the
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Lagos state, after their arrest at
the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in the state.
Echezona, 54, a driver and Louis,
a 44-year-old trader, were arrested on Thursday with over 252 wraps of cocaine
weighing 4.3kgs, and reportedly valued at about N39m. They had ingested some of
the drugs and concealed part of it in their luggage.
Confirming the arrests and
seizure, the NDLEA spokesperson, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, said the suspects were
apprehended during the screening of passengers on an Emirates flight from
Dubai.
Echezona told officials of the
agency in his statement: “I am a driver but I have been out of job for a while
now. I have been searching for job and my condition was so bad that I could not
feed and discharge my responsibilities as a husband to my wife and father to my
children. This was the reason I went into drug trafficking. I did it in order
to survive the economic hardship.”
Louis also attributed his
involvement in drug trafficking to poverty: “I used to sell jewellery but I
have lost everything including my shop due to family problem. I feel ashamed
that I cannot take care of my family and pay the school fees of my children,”
he said.