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| Sadiat |
Forty-eight-year-old
Saidat Hassan, was on her way out of the country with a strange substance in
her stomach when she suddenly became sick at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International
Airport, Abuja.
Before
anybody could ask if she was okay, Hassan had vomited fifteen wraps of white
powdery substances which later tested positive for cocaine.
According
to the spokesperson for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Mr. Mitchell
Ofoyeju, the incident took place at the central screening section of the
departure hall during the screening of passengers on an Egypt Airline flight to
Jidda, Saudi Arabia en-route Cairo.
“She
was immediately apprehended by NDLEA officers, who later discovered that she
had ingested 80 wraps of cocaine weighing 904 grammes,” Ofoyeju said.
It
was learnt that when officials realised that what Hassan had vomited was
cocaine, they placed her under observation till she excreted 65 more wraps of
the drug.
The
NDLEA commander at the airport, Mr. Hamisu Lawan, said that efforts were made
to protect her from any harm resulting from drug ingestion.
Hassan,
who told officials that she is a native of Idiroko, Ogun State, but resides in
Lagos Island, explained that she is a business woman who deals in clothing
materials.
She
said in her statement, “I buy my goods from Ghana. I was introduced into the
drug business by a friend and business partner. The drug was brought from
Abidjan, Ivory Coast and we were supposed to share the proceeds equally.
“Until
my arrest, I never knew that the cocaine I ingested could have led to my death
in Saudi Arabia. I thank God for keeping me alive.”
Few
years ago, a female drug trafficker, Ifeoma Joy, who vomited 79 wraps of
cocaine at the departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport,
Ikeja, Lagos later died when part of the drug burst in her stomach.
Chairman/Chief
Executive of the NDLEA, Col. Mohammad Abdallah (retd.) expressed satisfaction
with her arrest and directed that she must be duly prosecuted.
Abdallah
stated “A mother of three children swallowing cocaine is the height of parental
ineptitude. I am glad that she did not die from drug ingestion and she is alive
to face trial.
This arrest has also saved her because drug trafficking in Saudi
Arabia, her final destination, is punishable by death.
“I
expect the general public to draw lessons from this case that drug trafficking
leads to immeasurable pain, ignominy and untimely death.”
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