Nigerian Businessman Caught in Cocaine Sting at Abuja Airport, Excretes 88 Pellets

NDLEA NABS VIETNAM-BOUND BUSINESSMAN WITH 88 COCAINE PELLETS AT ABUJA AIRPORT.

In a major drug bust, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested a 54-year-old businessman, Paul Okwuy Mbadugha, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Monday, August 12, 2024. Mbadugha was intercepted at the boarding gate of Qatar Airways flight QR 1432 to Hanoi, Vietnam via Doha, after testing positive for cocaine ingestion.

According to NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the suspect excreted 88 packets of cocaine weighing 1.710 kilograms during a four-day observation period. Mbadugha claimed he was given the cocaine pellets by an acquaintance in Lagos, with instructions to transport them to Vietnam for a payment of $2,000.

In a related development, NDLEA officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos intercepted a shipment of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, concealed in noodles and bound for Congo. The sender, Nnamani Sunday Sunny, was arrested during a follow-up operation at the Alaba International market in Lagos.

Additionally, a large consignment of Loud imported from Canada was recovered by NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport, with a suspect, Desalu Taophic Temitope, arrested and 65.80 kilograms of the psychoactive substance seized.