Iran-Bound Businessman Nabbed at Port Harcourt Airport for Ingesting 53 Cocaine Wraps

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Cocaine Found in Swallowed Wraps

A 44-year-old man, Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian , was arrested at Port Harcourt International Airport on 7 June .

He was trying to board a Qatar Airways flight to Tehran , Iran, when he was stopped by NDLEA officers .

A body scan showed signs of drug ingestion. He later excreted 53 wraps of cocaine in six batches. The total weight was 1.172 kilograms .

The arrest was announced in a statement by Femi Babafemi of the NDLEA .

Ezemokwe admitted to trafficking drugs for two years. He said he had made several trips between West Africa and Iran .


Recent Trend Seen in Iran-Bound Flights

Less than two weeks earlier, another man, Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, 60 , was caught at Kano International Airport with 65 pellets of cocaine in his stomach while trying to fly to Iran .

This has raised concerns about Nigeria’s role in international cocaine trafficking to the Middle East.


Major Drug Seizures Across the Country

Other recent operations include:

  • 14 June : Edobor Ambrose Ali was stopped at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (Lagos) with 14,410 tramadol pills hidden in jackets.
  • Rivers State : 157,800 bottles of codeine syrup , worth over ₦1.1 billion , were found hidden behind ceramics at Onne Port .
  • Cross River State : 2,687kg of cannabis was seized from a warehouse in Obereakai .
  • Bauchi State : A car carrying 287kg of cannabis was intercepted along the Bauchi–Jos road .
  • Lagos : 560kg of skunk was recovered from a boat off Oniru Beach .
  • Maiduguri : Two suspects were found with ecstasy pills and cannabis labeled as “Lychee” and “Porro Legal.”

NDLEA Praises Continued Efforts

NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) praised officers involved in these operations.

Units from MMIA, PHIA, Onne Port, Cross River, Bauchi, and others were recognized for their hard work.

Marwa also noted that efforts are being made to reduce both drug supply and demand across the country.


Call to Action: Share Your Thoughts!

What do you think about the growing number of drug arrests at Nigerian airports? Is more needed to stop this?

💬 Leave a comment below and join the discussion on Nigeria’s fight against drug trafficking.

📢 Don’t forget to share this article to help spread awareness.

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