Crime

19yr old Cyprus-bound Nigerian student arrested at Abuja airport with illicit drugs concealed inside crayfish

Published

10 months ago

July 16, 2023

A 19-year-old Nigerian student, Benjamin Nnamani Daberechi has been arrested for attempting to export 7.2kg of methamphetamine, concealed in crayfish, to Cyprus, where he was going for undergraduate studies.

Benjamin was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi revealed this in a statement shared on Sunday, July 16, 2023.

The statement partly read, “The teenage suspect was intercepted on Wednesday 12th July, during an outward clearance of passengers on Turkish Airlines flight TK 0624.

“While being interviewed by operatives, Daberechi claimed he was a student on his way to Cyprus for studies, but upon a thorough search of his luggage, he was found possessing 7.2kg of whitish substance neatly concealed inside a sack of crayfish. A field test of the substance however proved positive to Methamphetamine.

“In the same vein, operatives of the Tincan Port Command of the Agency on Tuesday 11th July intercepted 116.5kg consignment of Colorado, a strong strain of cannabis concealed in bags hidden in a heap of used vehicles parts on the floor of a container marked FCIU 8459700, bearing three units of used vehicles imported from Toronto, Canada.

“Based on intelligence, the Agency had requested a 100 per cent examination of the container which arrived at the TICT terminal of the port on 14th June.

“A joint examination with the Nigeria Customs, DSS and other stakeholders on Tuesday 11th July however led to the discovery of 233 parcels of the illicit substance stashed inside travelling bags on the floor of the container, covered with used vehicle spare parts.”