NDLEA Intercepts 21.9kg of Cocaine at Abuja Airport

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) yesterday disclosed that its agents at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Command, Abuja, intercepted 21.9 kilogrammes of cocaine.

The illicit substance concealed in two suitcases, it said, is the largest single seizure by the command.

The agency in a statement issued in Abuja by the Deputy Commander of Narcotics (DCN) and Principal Staff Officer of Public Affairs, Jonah Achema, stated that the two unaccompanied and unclaimed suitcases were discovered after the arrival of an Ethiopian Airline ET 910 in Abuja from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Achema hinted that during the inward clearance of the flight, the vigilant officers of the command became suspicious upon noticing that the two brief cases were abandoned on the conveyor belt without any of the passengers claiming them.

He said the NDLEA commander directed the officers to keep an eye on the suitcases and informed the airline and its handlers of NDLEA’s interest in the luggage.

According to him, “After few days of not claiming the luggage, the commander formally contacted the Station Manager of Ethiopian Airline and NAHCO Aviance being the handler for the airline, indicating the suspicion of the agency of the suitcases and placed a standing order that NDLEA should be invited before the luggage would be released to the owner or in the event that the luggage would be returned to the point of embarkation.