The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) attached to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja intercepted parcels of cocaine worth £3.8 million (N2 billion) and weighing 9.15kg concealed in a shipment of shoes aboard a Turkish airline flight.
The discovery, according to reports was made after thoroughly searching inside soles of shoes during inward screening of passengers on the flight
“The seizure is a validation of enhanced capacity of officers due to series of training programmes carried out by the agency. The training covering investigation, raid operations as well as prosecution was conducted with the assistance of the United States government, European Union (EU) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). This is just a tip of the iceberg because as the benefits of these training begin to manifest, more drugs shall be detected and cartels dislodged in the days ahead,” Abdallah said.
The NDLEA boss while explaining further said that the huge profit derived from drug trafficking has made it a top priority for drug cartels to be financially incapacitated.
“We must continue to take deliberate steps to intercept drugs and ultimately prevent the criminal enrichment of drug cartels. Illicit drug proceeds negatively affect economic development, could be used to corrupt government officials and terrorism funding thereby subjecting mankind to widespread destruction,” he remarked.
