Gift Joseph Okpakorese
A Chadian lady, Vivien Tarmadji, has been arrested by members of The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the popular Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja while attempting to board an Ethiopian airline en route to Addis Ababa-Italy.
According to the story told by news reporters, the suspect was caught in possession of 234.35 grams of heroin hidden in her private parts. Tarmadji, who was described as a hairstylist, was said to have owned a salon business in Italy. Nonetheless, her suspicious demeanour attracted the attention of the anti-narcotic agents during an outward clearance of the airline at the boarding gate.
Commenting on the incident, one of the official spokesmen for the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi revealed that the lady in question claimed she was called by someone in Italy to receive the drug from a man, who delivered the illegal substance to her in a hotel in Lagos.
Babafemi pointed out that the trafficker “who runs a salon business in Italy since 2016 upon her relocation to the country via Libya was arrested by vigilant narcotics agents during an outward clearance of the airline at the boarding gate, after being scanned. Under interrogation, she claimed she was contacted by a man who called her from Italy to collect the drug from a man in Nigeria.’
“The said man delivered the illicit substance to her in a hotel she lodged in Lagos early in the morning before she took her flight to Abuja the same day for onward journey to Italy. She further claimed that the man brought 50 wraps of the substance for her to swallow but she couldn’t. She decided to insert 18 wraps into her private parts and returned the remaining to the man that brought them to her in the hotel.’
“She said she came into Nigeria to raise money to pay for her house and shop rents which had expired in Italy, as life has been so difficult since the coming in of COVID-19 pandemic. She said the owner of the drug was to pay her 10,000 euros on the successful delivery of the drug to Italy.”
Meanwhile, Babafemi revealed that another suspect, whose name was given as Okojie James, from Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State had also been apprehended while boarding a Turkish airline flight en route to Abuja-Istanbul-Cyprus.
He stated that “Several illicit drugs including 1.549kg of Cannabis Sativa; 223.80 grams of Tramadol; 192.34grams of Rohypnol; 214.05 grams of Flunitrazepam, all of which were concealed in tins of Bournvita and milk, packed in a bag of foodstuff were recovered from him. During interrogation, he claimed his friend, Mr. Elvis who resides in Cyprus asked him to collect the luggage for him. According to him, Elvis’ sister sent the luggage to him in Abuja from Benin City through a transport company.”
According to a narrative by the Commander, Abuja Command of the NDLEA, Kabir Tsakuwa, it was confirmed that while Okojie James was taken into custody last Saturday, Vivien was caught on Tuesday, March 23, 2021. He concluded that both suspects would soon be prosecuted.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA operatives at the NAHCO export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos, also seized five abandoned cartons of green leaves suspected to be KHAT with a gross weight of 105.70 kilograms. The agency’s Chairman Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.) lauded the efforts of officials of the two airports commands and encouraged them to be continually vigilant and docile in the discharge of their duties on the battle against drug trafficking in the federation.
