2 friends nabbed by NDLEA for drug trafficking

isaac

February 6, 2015 9:25 AM

In their quest to acquire a free visa to Dubai, two friends have been nabbed for trafficking in hard drugs.

Two friends who wanted to get free visas to Dubai by engaging in drug trafficking, Sandra Ebere and Maureen Obidike, have been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, during an outward trip to Dubai, United Arab Emirate.

The ladies were arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, during the screening of passengers on an Etihad flight.

A statement from the agency report that 19.8 kilogrammes of dried weeds, said to be cannabis sativa, was discovered from the two friends, packaged into about 78 parcels and concealed inside foodstuffs and bottles.

During an interview with the NDLEA officials, 30-year-old Ebere, a graduate of Economics, confessed that a travel agent in Dubai directed her to smuggle the drug as a prerequisite for a free visa.

"I used to export foodstuffs to Dubai since 2012. Each time I go to Dubai, I stay for two months and come back because I have no permanent visa.

I came to Nigeria since December 2014 to spend the Christmas and New Year holidays at home.

While I was preparing to go back, my travel agent in Dubai called me that somebody will give me a parcel to bring to him.

He promised me that if I could bring it to him, he will prepare my next visa for free. That was how I agreed to take it."

For 33-year-old Obidike, her friend Ebere deceived her into the drug trade.

"My friend did not tell me that she had drugs in the luggage before she checked in in my name.

She told me that it was foodstuffs, but it turned out to be cannabis. I feel very sad."

The NDLEA Commander at the Lagos Airport, Umar Hamza, said the case was under investigation.

"We found 78 parcels of dried weeds that tested positive for cannabis sativa weighing 19.8kg inside foodstuffs and bottles of local alcoholic beverage.

The case is under investigation and the suspects are assisting our team of investigators."

isaac