NDLEA arrests grandfather for drug traffickingBy Oyetunji AbioyeFriday, 29 Oct 2010View All (4) Comment(s)Post CommentTwitterSend to friendShareOperatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have apprehended a 60-year-old grandfather and a 47-year-old grandmother in connection with illicit drug trafficking.A statement by the Head, Public Affairs, NDLEA, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, said both suspects allegedly ingested a total of 189 wraps of powdery substances weighing 3.140kgs as revealed by scanning machine at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.The first suspect, Mr. Mobolaji Bello, 60, is a transport administrator and he resides at Surulere, Lagos while the second suspect, Mrs. Kehinde Afolabi, 47, is a trader in Owo, Ondo State. Ofoyeju said the suspects were being interrogated by NDLEA investigators.The NDLEA spokesman said Bello ingested 83 wraps of substances that tested positive to be heroin weighing 1.120kgs. He was said to have been stopped from smuggling the drugs to Detroit in the United States, through a KLM flight.Afolabi, according to the NDLEA, swallowed 106 wraps of substances that proved positive for cocaine weighing 1.920kgs, and she was arrested on her way to London during the screening of passengers on Virgin Atlantic flight.The Chief Executive Officer, NDLEA, Alhaji Ahmadu Giade, said that the agency’s strategic plan aimed at stemming the illicit trade in narcotics was yielding positive result.He said, “The end of the year is usually associated with rise in crime rate as most people strive to make money for the yuletide season. This inordinate quest for money compels many into illicit drug trafficking and other criminal activities. We have, therefore, prepared adequately to tackle the antics of drug barons.“We shall stop them by strategic reduction of our threats and maximisation of drug control opportunities. The use of older people will certainly not work as these arrests have shown.”The NDLEA Airport Commander, Alhaji Hamza Umar, said that scanning machines would always detect drugs irrespective of age and status.According to Hamza, “It is amazing that at their age, they could still involve in drug trafficking. The good thing is that we have the capacity to detect them as scanning machines do not consider age and status.”Bello who would have smiled to the bank with $10,000, if he was successful, said that it took him a year to be convinced into drug trafficking.He disclosed that he owns two busses for commercial transportation in Lagos, beside his auto parts business. He hails from Ekiti State and has four children who have all graduated from high school.“My wife had a surgical operation that cost about 1.5 million naira last year. I am still paying the debt I incurred from the medical bill. All the same, it all started last year when I contemplated smuggling drugs. They gave me bitter cola to swallow which I did but I later changed my mind after the trial. Three weeks ago, I was contacted by the same people and I agreed to do it for 10,000 dollars. Now I know that I have made a mistake,” Bello stated.Afolabi told narcotic officers that she smuggled drugs because she needed money for medication.She was to board a Virgin Atlantic flight to London when scanning machine revealed 106 wraps of cocaine in her stomach.According to Afolabi, “I needed money for my medication because I am sick. When I met the people in Lagos, they promised to pay me 3,500 pounds and I agreed to swallow the drugs. That was how they lodged me in a hotel where I ingested the drugs for about one and half day period. I am ashamed of myself.”
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