The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency(NDLE) attached to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport(NAIA), Abuja, has arrested a 23 year-old drug trafficker, Okoguale Douglas while trying to board a Milan ,Italy bound flight.
Okoguale according to NDLEA excreted 59 wraps of heroin weighing 781.2 grammes .
The suspect who is from Uromi in Esan North-East Local Government Area of Edo State, was arrested by operatives of NDLEA, during an outward clearance of Ethiopian airline flight number 910 at the boarding gate of the airport enroute Abuja-Addis Ababa- Milan (Italy) after being scanned, which proved positive for ingestion.
During interrogation, Okoguale alleged that he has been residing in Italy since 2011 after entering the country via Libya with one of his uncles and that he works as a restaurant attendant in Italy, where he earns 900 Euro per month .
The suspect also said that he works as a painter on his free days and gets about 400 Euro upon completion of any work.
On further interrogation, he said that he came to Nigeria on April 4, 2021 for the burial of his late father in Esan, Edo state and after spending so much during the burial, he ran out of money, a situation, he said made him ask for financial support from one of his Nigerian friends resident in Italy.
He further claimed that his friend told him he would send him money on the grounds that he would collect a consignment for him from one other friend of his in Nigeria., adding that to facilitate that, he promised to send him a number to call.
Okoguale stated that contrary to the initial arrangement, he claimed he was called by a man on Thursday April 29, 2021 ,who asked him to come down to Abuja, where he was picked by two other unknown men from Utako area .
He added that he was and lodged in a hotel and he does not know the address.
Okoguale alleged that while in the hotel on Friday night two men brought the wrapped drug to him after which he swallowed the 59 pellets early on Saturday, May 1, 2021 .
He said that there and then he was promised Euro 2000 on successful delivery of the drugs in Milan, Italy.
