The suspect, Mrs Binuyo Basari Iyabo, who has been under observation, reportedly excreted 82 wraps of cocaine weighing 931grammes which street value is estimated at N10 million. She excreted 76 wraps of the drug and later excreted six more wraps to make 82.
The agency’s commander at the Abuja airport, Hamisu Lawan, said the suspect was arrested because she tested positive for drug ingestion during the outward screening of passengers on an Emirate flight to Dubai en-route Medina. She was on her way to Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage.
Lawan said drug trafficking was punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, adding that arrangement had been concluded for her prosecution. Describing her action as shameful and discreditable, the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Muhammad Mustapha Abdallahi, said: “It is a shameful and discreditable act for a 55-year-old mother, going on holy pilgrimage, to ingest narcotics. This is shocking and a clear indication of her inability to effectively discharge parental responsibility. The agency shall invoke the powers of the law against her and others caught indulging in production/trafficking in narcotic drugs”.
During interrogation, the suspect, a mother of three from Irepodun local government area of Kwara State, was said to have revealed that she was offered N1m to traffic the drug. She said : “I am a trader in Lagos, married with three children. I wanted to expand my cosmetic business but I have no money. My sponsor offered to foot my expenses to Saudi on pilgrimage. This was how I got involved in the act. I was excited until the issue of drugs was introduced. I wanted to decline but it was late. Besides, I was offered a million naira which I accepted. I swallowed the drug in Lagos and took a flight to Abuja on my way to Medina but I was caught in the process” .
The agency’s boss therefore called on members of the public not to get involved in drug trafficking and other criminal activities capable of exposing them to ridicule and undermining their good reputation.
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