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Nigeria: NDLEA detains a human trafficker and an orphan traveling to Dubai with drugs.

Published

3 months ago

July 10, 2022

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has stopped a human trafficker from attempting to ship illegal drugs to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), by hiding them in an orphan’s luggage.
This was said in a statement made on Sunday in Abuja by Mr. Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA.

The orphan, Ms. Peter Eno, was purportedly recruited by the suspect, Matthew Bassey, for a fictitious job in an Arab country, according to Babafemi, who said that Bassey was at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja Lagos.
He claimed that Bassey, 29, of Oron LGA, Akwa Ibom, was detained on July 6 after Eno was intercepted in the airport of Lagos’ departures area.

He also stated that when Eno’s luggage was checked, 50 cannabis packages weighing 2.80 kg were found hidden among food items, and her declared age and the date of birth on her international passport were different.

“Further interview reveals that the human trafficker, who recruited and brought her to the airport, Bassey, was still lurking around the airport, waiting for her departure.

“He was promptly tracked and arrested. Investigations showed that the victim, who hails from the same Oron LGA of Akwa Ibom like Bassey recently lost her mother.
“This made it easy for Bassey to recruit her with the promise of securing her a job in Dubai, UAE.

“It was further discovered that the recruiter leveraged on the victim’s naivety and planted drugs in her bag for onward delivery to his contact in Dubai,” he said.

According to Babafemi, the retired Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, Chairman, NDLEA, praised the MMIA command’s officers and members for maintaining vigilance and initiative in their respective fields of responsibility.

They were exhorted by Marwa to keep pushing forward together with their colleagues across the nation.