The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the arrest of a 38-year old South African woman, Nene Fikil, for alleged drug trafficking.
Mr Mitchell Ofoyeju, the spokesman for the anti-drug agency, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the suspect was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, on Dec. 17.
He said the suspect was trying to board an Emirates Airline plane when she developed stomach pain and called for medical assistance.
“She gave herself up when she suddenly held her stomach in pain at the departure hall.
“She was to go through screening when suddenly she held her stomach and beckoned on security officials, demanding to see a doctor.”
“Immediately, she was taken for scan which confirmed positive for narcotics ingestion.
“Under observation, she excreted 55 wraps of a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, weighing 700 grammes; preliminary investigation revealed that she travelled to Malaysia from South Africa.”
It was in Malaysia that she was recruited to smuggle drugs from Cotonou, Benin Republic, where she ingested the drug,'' Ofoyeju said.
He said that a doctor was invited to assist the suspect overcome the situational reaction to drug ingestion in order to save her life.
Ofoyeju said that the suspect, in her confessional statement, claimed to be a single mother and that she wanted to make life better for her 19-year old daughter.
“My desire to give my only child the best education made me to engage in drug trafficking; this is my first time and I was scared of death.”
“I reported myself when I was feeling acute pain in my stomach,'' the NDLEA spokesman quoted the suspect as saying.
The South African Embassy in Nigeria had been contacted, while some officials had visited her, he said.
Ofoyeju said that investigation would also be carried out under the aegis of the West Africa Joint Operations, an umbrella body of anti-drug agencies in the West African sub-region, because she got the drug in Cotonou.
“We hope to dismantle the drug cell that sponsored the suspect, possibly under a joint operation since two countries are involved.
“Certainly, no stone shall be left unturned in this case.”
The spokesman said the suspect would be charged to court on completion of investigation.
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