Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have
arrested an auto technician, Vincent Chinweuwa, for allegedly hiding 2.655kg of
cocaine hidden inside roasted chicken.
The seizure was made at the Murtala
Mohammed International Airport, Lagos during the inward clearance of passengers
on a Turkish Airline flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil on Friday.
The agency said street value of the
seized drug was about N24m.
The NDLEA Airport Commander, Mr.
Hamza Umar, described the seizure as “remarkable.”
“It is a remarkable seizure because
no one would have imagined cocaine worth several millions inside roasted
chicken,” Hamza stated.
When he was interrogated, the suspect
reportedly said he thought that the drug would not be detected.
“It took me three days to pack the
cocaine inside the roasted chicken. I was confident that the drug will not be
detected. I have been living in Brazil since 2006. Life has been stressful
because I cannot even visit my wife in Nigeria due to lack of money. I wanted
some money to start any business of my choice back home. Unfortunately, I was
disappointed upon arrival in Lagos,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Ahmadu Giade, said spectacular seizures
of this nature would help discourage others from the criminal drug trade.
“The suspect thought his mode of drug
concealment was perfect but we proved him wrong. Several drugs cleverly hidden
by drug barons have been discovered and we shall continue to detect drugs
regardless of the mode of concealment,” Giade assured.
The suspect who hails from Imo State
will soon be charged to court.