I didn’t know drug was hidden inside gala, says suspect

For those that over trust people and ready to help them in taking luggage abroad, this might be a great lesson for them to learn from.

Hear this. 

A suspected drug trafficker who was arrested has said he was not aware that the bag filled with gala, which his friend gave him to assist him take to China, was filled with illicit drugs.

The suspect, Ogbonna Friday Ogbu, 33, a trader in Onitsha Main Market, Anambra State, told narcotic investigators that he was given N100,000 to smuggle the drugs.

 Ogbu said: “My friend in China gave me N100,000 to take a bag to China.

The last time I travelled to China, he assisted me. When he gave me the money to take the bag containing gala to China, I thought he was doing me a favour.

“I never knew he was digging my grave. After my arrest, I felt bad and regretted my action.”

Three suspects were actually arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

Aside from Ogbu, others were Famolu David Adebisi, 34, and OsamunyiJoy Omas, 26.

 They were held at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. Ogbu was caught smuggling 35.115kg of cannabis to China.

Adebisi was in possession of 4kg of cannabis, which he was taking to Dubai, while Omas, the only female caught, was held for attempting to smuggle 19.640kg of cannabis to Dubai.

The NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport said that investigation into the matter was already on. Omas, who sells shoes and female hand bags, said she had learnt a bitter lesson.

Her words: “I lost my parents and I sell shoes and female clothes and bags to earn a living. My friend in Dubai told me that somebody will give me foodstuff to bring to her. That was how I collected the bags from the person she sent to me.

“ I still find it difficult that this happened to me but I’ve learnt a bitter and painful lesson in my life.”

Adebisi, who sells laptops in Lagos, said he bought the drugs himself.

He said: “I bought the cannabis myself for N44,000. I was introduced into drug trafficking by a friend who assisted me with my travel documents. He told me that if I can bring 4kg of cannabis to Dubai that he will pay me N500,000. That was what encouraged me to take the risk. I blame myself because I should have listened to my conscience.”

The Chairman of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, has called on members of the public to be cautious of plot by drug barons to recruit drug mules in smuggling locally grown cannabis to countries with capital punishment for drugs like United Arab Emirates and China.

Giade revealed that the NDLEA had foiled several attempts by drug barons to smuggle cannabis in foodstuff outside the country.

According to Giade: “Based on intelligence report and intense covert operations undertaken by the Agency, we have recorded arrests of drug suspects and seizures of cannabis concealed in foodstuff. 

"It is pertinent to alert members of the public of fresh plot by drug barons to smuggle cannabis to countries with capital punishment for drug trafficking because of the high profit involved. Drug barons are wicked and callous. They are only interested in making money even at the risk of others sacrificing their precious lives.”