The Pakistanis were arrested with 8kg of cocaine.
Aviation Security (AVSEC) officers have claimed the arrest of two Pakistani businessmen caught with cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The Pakistanis were arrested with 8kg of cocaine.
Nigeria’s anti-narcotic agency, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) earlier said its operatives at SAHCO import shed apprehended the suspected criminals, but sources in AVSEC on Sunday evening told SaharaReporters their officers made the bust and handed the suspects to the NDLEA, only for the anti-narcotic agency to claim all the glory.
The sources said it has become a regular occurrence for AVSEC officers to arrest drug traffickers and hand them over to the NDLEA, and the latter would claim the arrest and not give any credit to the former.
The cocaine was concealed in a public address system and the suspects, identified as Haveed Hussain, 57 and Asif Muhammad, 45, were attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Lahore, Pakistan via Doha.
The suspects were in possession of Nigerian residence permits suspected to be fake and were described as frequent travellers to Nigeria under the guise of doing textile business.
One of the sources said the suspects were intercepted at Gate at about 0620hours by an AVSEC officer.
The name of the officer who made the arrest before notifying his colleagues was not disclosed to protect his identity for fear of being targeted by drug dealers.
“It happened at about 0620hours on November 5, 2022 and the Pakistanis with suspected illicit drugs were intercepted at Gate A by AVSEC officers.
“The drugs were detected by an AVSEC officer whose name I won’t mention to protect his identity. The suspects were in possession of Pakistan passports and the drugs were concealed in a music speaker,” one of the sources said.
Another AVSEC source said, “The suspects are Haveed Hussain with Pakistani passport number XR6890783 and Nigerian resident card and Asif Muhammad with Pakistani passport number AS1883525
“The speaker in which the drugs were concealed was in possession of Asif Muhammad. Naveed Hussain’s resident card shows he works for Makinbo Integrated Resource Ltd.
“Both suspects were taken by NDLEA officials led by Abubakar K with ODC number 27872 for further action.
“It is unfair that NDLEA claimed the glory for the arrest but it wasn’t its officers that intercepted the drug dealers. It was the security unit of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and AVSEC.
“And this happens a lot; the NDLEA claims all the credit and never gives FAAN or AVSEC any credit for the arrests we make. It is unfair that the media reported it as if the NDLEA did the whole thing.”