Textile merchant arrested with N57m cocaine

A 32-year-old textile merchant, Paul Emujue,
has been arrested by officials of the National
Drug Law Enforcement Agency for importing
5.745kg of cocaine worth N57m.
Emujue was said to have hidden the cocaine
inside laptop bags. He was said to be on his
way from Sao Paulo, Brazil, when he was
apprehended at the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport, Lagos.
A statement by NDLEA Head of Public Affairs,
Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, said NDLEA
Commander, Mr. Hamza Umar, confirmed the
arrest.
Umar said, "The drug was detected during the
inward screening of passengers on Etihad
flight. The cocaine was ingeniously packed in
laptop bags such that we had to cut the bags
open to detect the drug. The suspect could
have escaped arrest, had the drug not been
detected."
Ofoyeju, however, said investigation had
commenced into the case and Emujue, who
hailed from Anambra State, would be charged
to court at the conclusion of investigation.
NDLEA spokesperson said the suspect was
single and dropped out of school in Junior
Secondary School in 1988.
The secondary school dropout said, "I
ventured into drug trafficking because of
frustration. For the past 10 years, I have
been dealing in textiles in Togo. In 2011, I
relocated to Brazil in search of greener
pastures.
"Unfortunately, my business did not flourish
as I had expected. I was assured that I could
make enough money from drug trafficking to
invest in my business. I decided to give it a
trial and I was arrested in the process."
NDLEA Chairman, Ahmadu Giade, said, "The
agency will continue to arrest drug traffickers
and charge them to court. This arrest is
commendable. Members of the public must
note that it is wrong to raise capital from
drug trafficking because anyone that ventures
into the criminal act will be prosecuted. I
urge stakeholders to partner with the NDLEA
in fighting drug trafficking."