Crime Guard Wednesday, November 9, 2011
By Ifeanyi Okolie
The Eid-el-Kabir celebration has turned into a nightmare for 39-year-old Olalekan Idris Bamidele and Nnana Kenneth Chukwuma, 39, as they were arrested by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) while attempting to import narcotics worth N51million into the country on Sallah day.
Idris Olalekan Bamidele with the 5.300kg cocaine concealed in ladies handbags & Nnanna Keneth Chukwuma - another suspect.
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The duo who were said to be members of a notorious drug cartel operating within Brazil and Nigeria met their waterloo as substances suspected to be cocaine were found on them during search operations on passengers arriving the country from Brazil aboard Qatar Airline flights at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The shipment of 5.300kg of cocaine hidden inside ladies hand bags was on Sunday November 6, 2011, intercepted at about 2pm. Another seizure of 1.090kg of cocaine was last week, detected in the belly of a passenger suspected to be a member of the cartel with the aid of scanning machine.
The seizures are believed to have been masterminded by members of an international drug cartel that smuggles cocaine first, from Brazil to West Africa and from West Africa to Europe and America. Arrests have also been made in connection with the cocaine seizures with an estimated street value of over N51 million.
Crime Alert gathered that one of the drug suspects, Bamidele, who allegedly checked in a luggage containing 5.300kg into a Qatar Airline flight at Sao Paulo was arrested on arrival at the Lagos airport last Sunday and Nnanna who swallowed narcotic drugs in Brazil tested positive to drug ingestion at the arrival hall of the Lagos airport and was also arrested While Nnanna was under observation, he excreted ingested drug that tested positive for cocaine weighing 1.090kg.
Olalekan Idris Bamidele who hails from Odogbolu in Ogun State and married with 3 children told Crime Alert that he fled Libya for Malaysia during the eight month civil war that ravaged the country. "In September 2011, I traveled to Brazil in search of job opportunities.
But unfortunately, I joined a drug cartel over there in Brazil and I was asked to deliver the bag containing cocaine in Lagos. I was however, arrested on my way from Brazil last Sunday with 5.300kg of cocaine at the Lagos airport. I am living at Ikorodu with my wife and children. I attended Saint Paul's Primary School, Odogbolu and had my secondary education at Odogbolu Grammar School.
"I am a trained carpenter but I work as a painter to earn a living in Libya. I left there because of the crisis. I thought Brazil will be better for me but it turned out this way. I was asked to bring the bag containing the drug to Nigeria. This is my first time, please help me" Olalekan appealed.
Nnana Kenneth Chukwuma, 39, traveled to Brazil also in search of job opportunities in August 2011. He tested positive for drug ingestion and was arrested at the Lagos airport. Few days later, he excreted wraps of drugs weighing 1.090kg.
The suspect sells Nigeria movies and musical discs in Gambia. He is married to a Gambian and has two children. "Hardship forced me into drug trafficking. My family are in Gambia. I was frustrated into smuggling the drugs for half a million naira. I feel bad about my involvement and do not know what to do now" Nnana stated. He hails from Mbaino in Imo State.
Chairman of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade expressed delight over the arrests particularly that of Olalekan Idris Bamidele who wanted to take advantage of the Islamic festival to import 5.300kg of cocaine into the country. "Though drug barons are wise in exploring ways of smuggling drugs, we are wiser in detecting the drugs and arresting them. This arrest is a warning that we are always at alert to scuttle their next plan. We shall continue to expose their devices until they quit the criminal trade," Giade stated.
In his message to the nation on the occasion of Eid-el Kabir, Giade urged Nigerians to contribute to national peace by supporting the anti-drug campaign programme of the NDLEA. "Let us shun drug trafficking and abuse and report any suspicious illegal drug transaction at the nearest NDLEA office. A drug free society is our dream, consciously work towards it," he stated.
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