Man, 64, arrested for ingesting 1.580KG of heroin

Posted by admin Headlines, NDLEA (Anti-Drug Agency) Friday, March 25th, 2011

A 64 year-old man, Onwuka Ichi Ukegbu is now in the custody of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), for allegedly attempting to export 1.580 kilogrammes of a substance believed to be heroin into the United States.

The suspect, was arrested, last Sunday at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos, after operatives of the anti-drug agency during routine screening of passengers on a Lufthansa flight heading to Miami, United States suspected he swallowed drugs.

Saturday Vanguard gathered that the suspect, who is a textile merchant in Aba, Abia State, was first placed under observation during which he excreted all of the heroin in Lagos.

The grandfather who is married to two wives with 12 children claimed it was his first time of trafficking in narcotics. Preliminary investigation suggested that he bought the drugs in the hope of making a fortune on disposing of it in the United States. It was also discovered that he ingested the drugs in his house at Aba before he travelled to Lagos where he was caught.

In his confessional statement, Onwuka Ichi Ukegbu said he resorted to drug trafficking having been made to pay two million naira ransom to claim his kidnapped daughter. He said:”This is my very first time of smuggling drugs. I was lured into it when I could not find anything to do after the kidnap issue.

I was deceived into drug trafficking. My frustration began five months ago when my 22 year old daughter was kidnapped in my State and I was made to pay two million naira ransom. I am from Abiriba in Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State. I was tempted into drug trafficking when they told me that there is much money in it. The painful aspect is that I raised money to buy the drug myself. I regret everything now.”

Chairman of the Agency, Ahmadu Giade commended the officers for the arrest. He also faulted the claims of the suspect that he had no alternative other than drug trafficking. “A man that can buy drugs worth several millions of naira is a major trafficker.

The facts of his case certainly do not suggest a new entrant. I have directed that the matter be investigated” Giade said

-Vanguardwp_posts