Nnaji Juliet Ijeoma, 30 who hails from Enugu state was arrested by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos on Friday. She was caught with the illicit drug at the airport during the inward screening of South African Airways.
A statement by the spokesman of NDLEA, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju said that the suspect had attempted to bring in the drug into the country from Brazil. Ofoyeju hinted that the suspected white powdery substance tested positive for cocaine with a gross weight of 535 grams.
Commenting on the arrest, the NDLEA Commander at the Lagos airport, Ahmadu Garba said that the incident is being investigated and immediately the agency was through with its investigation Ms. Ijeoma would be charged to court for prosecution.
He explained that the suspect holds a National Diploma holder in Mass Communication and confessed that she took part in the illicit business because she needed money for her business. She allegedly confessed,
“I work as a hair stylist in Brazil where l reside for the past two years. I studied mass communication, but because of lack of job, I work as a hair stylist in Brazil. I was approached to smuggle cocaine to Nigeria and I accepted because of the money involved.
“I needed money for my personal problem. The drug was prepared inside brassiere and given to me to put on. I did not know how it was packaged. My role was to smuggle the drug to Nigeria and collect the sum of N1 million.”