NDLEA arrests 67-year-old trafficker who is raising funds to marry his new bride

Clement Chukwuemeka, 67, is a suspected drug trafficker who was detained by NDRLA agents at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja after he consumed 100 wraps of cocaine.

According to the suspect, who spent thirty years of his life in Brazil, Ethiopia, and Thailand, he turned to the illegal enterprise to earn enough money to marry a new wife and begin a new chapter in his life.

This was revealed in a statement provided to journalists on Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi.

Chukwuemeka was detained on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, during the inbound passenger clearance of Ethiopian Airlines flight 951 from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, according to Babafemi. He was then taken for a body scan, which found several pellets in his stomach.

“Over the course of being observed, he passed four excretions totaling 100 wraps of cocaine weighing 2.195 kg.

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“According to his statement, he was previously married but lost his spouse and had no children. He claimed to have lived for thirty years in Brazil, Ethiopia, and Thailand. He went on to say that’s why he made the decision to turn to drug trafficking in order to get enough cash to get married to a new woman and start over.
Additionally, on October 2, 2023, at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, Babafemi stated, that agents stopped 45-year-old Bilkisu Bello as she prepared to board a Saudia Airlines trip to Saudi Arabia.

During the questioning, she admitted that a residence in Kano’s Farawa neighborhood contained cocaine pellets that she had been instructed to swallow before to her trip. 52 wraps weighing 767 grams total of the illegal material were found when she led NDLEA agents to the residence.

“In the meantime, on Tuesday, October 3, NDLEA agents, backed by officers and soldiers from the Nigerian Army, Civil Defense Corps, and Amotekun staff, stormed James town in Ogunmakin, Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, where they discovered and destroyed 10.38 tonnes of cannabis sativa covering over 4.152 hectares,” the anti-drug agency spokesperson continued.

Additionally, it was reported that while returning from the operation, NDLEA agents stopped a truck with the license plate FS548XN that was transporting a 40-foot container filled with wood logs.

Following a search of the truck, six individuals were taken into custody: Ahmed Yusuf, Olaniyi Babatunde, Adedeji Babatunde, Richard John, Osolale Olamilekan, and Abdulazeez Saied. Two bags of 20 kg cannabis sativa were found inside the container.