A 59-year-old Nigerian businessman, Chijioke Nnanna Igbokwe, underwent emergency surgery to remove 57 cocaine pellets that were stuck in his belly.
Igbokwe had ingested 81 wraps of cocaine in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, before boarding a flight to Beirut, Lebanon, where he was to deliver the drugs for $3,000.
However, his plan was foiled when he was denied entry into Beirut due to insufficient funds. Deported back to Addis Ababa, Igbokwe attempted to excrete the drugs but failed.
He then proceeded to Lagos, where he was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
A body scan revealed the illicit drugs stuck in his belly, leading to his detention for excretion observation. After five days, Igbokwe could only expel 24 pellets, and with his condition worsening, he underwent exploratory laparotomy to extract the remaining 57 wraps of cocaine.
The total weight of the recovered cocaine pellets was 1.943 kilograms. This incident highlights the desperate measures some individuals will take to smuggle illicit substances, and the importance of vigilant law enforcement agencies in combating drug trafficking.
In a separate incident, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 2,000kg consignment of Ghanaian Loud cannabis at Lekki beach in Lagos, arresting two suspects in the process.
