Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested four pilgrims planning to travel to Saudi Arabia with cocaine at a hotel in Lagos.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi announced the arrests in a statement from Abuja on Thursday.
Babafemi detailed that the operation took place on June 5 at Emerald Hotel in Ladipo, Oshodi, Lagos State.
He explained that the suspects were caught ingesting cocaine pellets in preparation for their flight to Saudi Arabia.
Those arrested in the intelligence-driven raid include Usman Kamorudeen, 31; Olasunkanmi Owolabi, 46; Fatai Yekini, 38; and a woman, Ayinla Kemi, 34.
“The four suspects were lodged in two rooms in the hotel where they had prepared 200 pellets of cocaine weighing 2.20 kilograms to swallow when NDLEA officers stormed their rooms.
“100 wraps of the Class A substance were recovered from each of the two rooms bringing the total seizure to 200 wraps. Two suspects were to swallow 100 wraps each,” he said.
NDLEA Chairman, retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, praised the Lagos State command’s team for their successful operation.
Marwa affirmed that the agency would continue its efforts to identify and capture criminals, including those attempting to exploit religious pilgrimages to carry out illegal activities that could tarnish the nation’s reputation.
“The agency will work with our counterparts in Saudi Arabia to ensure that the designated recipients of seized illicit drug consignments in any part of Saudi Arabia are also traced and dealt with accordingly,” he said.
(NAN)
