Vietnam-Bound Drug Trafficker Excretes 88 Wraps Of Cocaine At Abuja Airport

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended Paul Okwuy Mbadugha, a Vietnam-bound drug trafficker, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) in Abuja after he tested positive for ingesting cocaine.

NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi revealed in a statement on Sunday that the 54-year-old suspect was intercepted on Monday, August 12, 2024, at the boarding gate during the outward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR 1432 to Hanoi, Vietnam via Doha.

“Mbadugha was placed under observation, and over four days, he excreted a total of 88 wraps of cocaine, with a gross weight of 1.710 kilograms,” Babafemi reported.

In his confession, Mbadugha claimed to be a Lagos-based businessman and admitted that he was given the cocaine pellets by a friend in the Isolo area of Lagos for delivery in Vietnam, in exchange for a fee.

In a related development, Babafemi disclosed that NDLEA officers at the export shed of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted a shipment of Loud, a potent strain of synthetic cannabis weighing 800 grams, concealed in noodle packs destined for Congo. A follow-up operation at the Alaba International Market in Ojo, Lagos, led to the arrest of the shipment’s sender, Nnamani Sunday Sunny, a dealer in GSM handsets.

Additionally, NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport recovered a large consignment of Loud imported from Canada. A suspect, Desalu Taophic Temitope, was arrested after arriving on an Air France flight with six boxes, four of which contained a total of 65.80 kilograms of the psychoactive substance. Desalu confessed that he and an accomplice, who is currently at large, were promised upon the successful delivery of the shipment in Lagos.