By Oghenedoro Onofurho
A suspected drug trafficker, arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, has explained how his pastor prayed for him before embarking on the trip that eventually led to his arrest.
The 26 year old suspect was on his way to Malaysia before the officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) nabbed him.
He was arrested for trying to smuggle suspected hard drug known as methamphetamine, weighing 1.8 kilogrammes and valued over N5 million out of the country.
The suspect smartly concealed the drug inside two tin-packs of tomato pastes.
NDLEA Airport Commander, Hamza Umar, gave the name of the suspect as Nzeka Chika Christian, a commercial motorcyclist, popularly known as Okada, in Okigwe, Imo State.
According to Hamza, the suspect was currently being interrogated.
‘The two big tin of tomato pastes with 1.8 kilogramme of methamphetamine were in Nzeka’s bag, containing clothes and foodstuffs like yam, rice, beans, garri and spaghetti. The food items were meant to distract officers from the tomato pastes,’ Hamza said.
During interrogation by reporters, the suspect explained that ‘the man I used to call oga wanted to lodge me in a hotel in Lagos, but I told him I preferred to stay in my church.
I was in the church and my pastor prayed for me to have a successful trip, although I did not discuss hard drug with my pastor. They gave me the drug and foodstuffs and promised to pay me $2,500, but unfortunately, here I am today,’ Christian lamented.
He claimed to be a commercial motorcycle operator based in Okigwe, Imo State, but was recruited into the drug deal when he went for financial help from his acclaimed friend who told him that he could only help him if he crossed over to Malaysia.
‘I’m a commercial motorcyclist in Okigwe, Imo State. I was not aware that drug offenders are subjected to capital punishment in Malaysia. I called my friend in Malaysia to assist me with capital to start business.
He told me that he was going to make arrangement for me to join him in Malaysia and that was how it all started. He gave my number to his friend in Lagos who invited me and prepared my travel documents,’ the suspect explained to the anti-narcotic agents at MMIA.
The drug was detected during the outward screening of an Egypt Air flight.
The claim of the suspect to be a commercial motorcycle operator was however discovered to be a lie, according to NDLEA’s investigation.
The Chairman of the agency, Ahmadu Giade, said that the suspect’s mode of drug concealment was a pointer to the fact that he was not a new person in the deal, and that it was the result of the red alert declared on the Malaysia-Nigeria route at the nation’s airports that exposed him.
Giade expressed his concern over the fact that the suspect was going to Malaysia where drug offence attracts death penalty.
‘This is an interesting seizure because it is not a commonplace concealment. The ingenuity of the mode of drug concealment is a reflection of the sophistry of the drug trafficking crime. I am glad that the arrest had prevented the execution of the suspect if he were caught in Malaysia,’ Giade stated.
But the suspect claimed ignorance of the death penalty over drug offence in Malaysia. He maintained that his friend in that country masterminded his involvement in drug deal.
‘I am not aware that drug offenders are subjected to capital punishment in Malaysia,’ Christian insisted.
