A 59-year-old businessman, Chijioke Igbokwe, was saved from death after the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) carried out a life-saving emergency surgery on him where 57 out of 81 pellets of cocaine lodged in his stomach were removed.
In a statement on Sunday by the agency’s Director, Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the exploratory laparotomy surgery was performed after Igbokwe spent seven days struggling to excrete the illicit substance which he had ingested in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Babafemi said Igbokwe was arrested on January 26, 2025, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, during the inward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight after a body scan conducted by NDLEA officers confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs, following which he was immediately placed under excretion observation at the agency’s medical facility.
“In a near death experience, a 59-year-old businessman, Chijioke Nnanna Igbokwe, has undergone a surgery, exploratory laparotomy, to let out 57 out of 81 pellets of cocaine stuck in his stomach after seven days of ingesting the illicit substance in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,” the NDLEA spokesman said.
“Igbokwe was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, during the inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight on Sunday 26th January 2025. He was promptly taken for body scan, which revealed illicit drugs in his system.
“He was soon after taken into NDLEA custody for excretion observation. Investigation revealed that Igbokwe who claims to be into cloth business at Arena, Oshodi area of Lagos, departed Lagos on 22nd January to Addis Ababa where he ingested the 81 wraps of cocaine the following day 23rd January and boarded a flight to Beirut, Lebanon to deliver the illicit consignment for a fee of $3,000.
“Upon his arrival in Beirut, he said he was refused entry because he had less than $2,000, the amount required to grant him entry. He was then deported to Addis Ababa where he attempted excreting the illicit drugs but could not.
“He thereafter proceeded to Lagos on Saturday 25th January with the consignment in his bowel. He was however arrested upon his arrival at the Lagos airport by NDLEA officers on 26th January.
“After five days under excretion observation, he could only expel 24 pellets following initial medical intervention at the Agency’s medical facility and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja.
“With the clock ticking for him and the complication of other underlining medical conditions, the suspect was eventually admitted at the tertiary facility where he had to undergo exploratory laparotomy to extract the remaining 57 wraps of cocaine stuck in his stomach after his wife and brother endorsed the necessary consent forms on Thursday 30th January.
“In all, a total of 81 pellets of the Class A drug with a gross weight of 1.943 kilograms were recovered from his stomach.”
According to Babafemi, in other operations carried out by the NDLEA, operatives intercepted a 2,000-kilogram shipment of Ghanaian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, at Lekki Beach 29 January 29, with two suspects, Sunday Awoyede and Christopher Cletus, arrested while attempting to load the drugs onto a truck.
“Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Lagos on Wednesday 29th, January, intercepted a consignment of 2,000 kilograms of Ghanaian Loud, a strain of cannabis produced in Ghana, at Lekki beach, where two suspects: Sunday Awoyede and Christopher Cletus attempted loading them into a truck.
“The suspects, the skunk shipment and the van were immediately taken into custody.
“Another suspect, Lawal Idris Olasunkanmi was also arrested same day with 55kg skunk during a raid at his base in Mushin area of Lagos.”