The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 38-year-old businessman, Philip Tunde, with 4.8kg of cocaine allegedly concealed in shoe soles and the railings of travelling bags.
Tunde was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while preparing to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy, the agency said.
NDLEA said 16 parcels of cocaine were recovered from the soles of eight pairs of trainers and canvas shoes, while another 195 wraps were found concealed in the railings of four travelling bags.
The agency said the suspect admitted purchasing the cocaine concealed in the shoes for N16 million in cash, while the consignment hidden in the bags was allegedly meant for delivery to his partner in Italy.
The arrest was part of a series of operations in which NDLEA said it intercepted drug consignments with a combined value of more than N5 billion at the Apapa, Tin Can Island and Onne ports.
At Tin Can Island Port, the agency recovered 1,297.5kg of Canadian Loud concealed in two vehicles inside a container shipped from Montreal, Canada. The consignment was valued at more than N3.8 billion.
At Apapa Port, 124kg of Loud, valued at N372 million, was recovered from two refrigerators and two cartons shipped from Bangkok, Thailand.
NDLEA also reported the seizure of 22kg of Loud and 109,600 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup at Onne Port, Rivers State.
In a statement, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), commended the officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain intelligence-led efforts against drug trafficking networks.
