A drug trafficker who was arrested last week by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) excreted the final wraps of cocaine ingested this weekend, according to officials.
The final tally of wrapped packages excreted was 82 pellets, the NDLEA said.
The drug courier, who was on her way to Medina for the 2016 annual hajj exercise in Saudi Arabia, was identified as 55 year old Binuyo Basari Iyabo.
The spokesman of NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, confirmed that Mrs. Iyabo excreted the last wraps of the substance over the weekend while in their custody.
According to Mr. Ofoyeju, the total weight of drugs excreted by the suspect was 931 grams.
According to the spokesman, Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah, the anti-narcotics boss, described the action of the suspect as shameful and stated that the drug trafficker would be sanctioned in line with anti-narcotics laws.
He said, “It is a shameful and discreditable act for a 55 years old mother who is going on a holy pilgrimage to ingest narcotics. This is very shocking and a clear indication of her inability to effectively discharge parental responsibilities.
“The agency shall invoke the powers of the law against her and others caught indulging in production or trafficking of drugs."
Also commenting on the arrest, NDLEA Commander at the Abuja airport, Hamisu Lawan, said that Mrs. Iyabo had since been under observation in the NDLEA custody.
He added that arrangements had been concluded for her prosecution in the law court.
Mrs. Iyabo was arrested during the outward screening of passengers on an Emirates Airlines flight to Dubai.
If the suspect had been caught in Saudi Arabia, she would have been publicly executed according to the law of the land.
Mrs. Iyabo is said to hail from Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State and she’s married with three children and sells cosmetics at Dosumu Market in Lagos.
In her confessional statement, she owned up to the crime and also provided investigators with useful information.
She said that she desired to expand her business in Dosunmu Market and that pushed her to begin trafficking in drugs.
She further confessed that her sponsors, who she declined to mention, offered her the sum of N1 million to courier the drug to Saudi Arabia. She added that she had swallowed the drug in Lagos, but took a flight to Abuja in order to avoid detection in Lagos.
She confessed, "I am a trader in Lagos, married with three children. I wanted to expand my cosmetic business, but I have no money. My sponsor offered to foot my expenses to Saudi on pilgrimage. This was how I got involved in the act.
“I was excited until the issue of drugs was introduced. I wanted to decline, but it was late. Besides, I was offered one N1 million, which I accepted. I swallowed the drugs in Lagos and took a flight to Abuja on my way to Medina, but I was caught in the process.”
