attempting to smuggle 23 wraps containing $34, 000
has revealed that he hid the wraps under his pants
when he could not swallow it.
The suspect, identified as Ozoh Ikenna, said: "I was
only a courier. I was paid to smuggle the $34,000 to
Brazil. They promised to pay me five per cent. I
agreed to smuggle the money to alleviate my
financial hardship. I could not swallow the wraps, so
I decided to hide it in my underpants."
The suspect, Ozoh Ikenna.
According to the National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency, NDLEA, Head of Public Affairs, Ofoyeju
Mitchell, Ozoh Ikenna was arrested at the Murtala
Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, on
his way to Brazil. The money was detected during
the screening of passengers for an Etihad Airways
flight to Abu Dhabi. He said the suspect packed the
dollars in wraps and concealed in his boxer shorts.
NDLEA airport commander, Ahmadu Garba, said the
arrest was facilitated by a scanning machine.
"We also conducted a follow-up operation where
one Ogbo Emmanuel who gave Ozoh the $34,000
dollars was arrested.
The money recovered from the suspected courier.
Investigation by the Assets and Financial
Investigation Directorate, headed by Mrs Victoria
Egbase, revealed that the suspects were involved in
the laundering of substantial amounts of illicit drug
proceeds. Over two hundred and twenty-six million
Naira (N226, 000,000) was traced to one bank
account belonging to the second suspect, Ogbo
Emmanuel. The account name is Eternal God
International Limited."
Investigations also revealed that the cosmetic
business of Ogbo Emmanuel at the Trade Fair
Complex, Lagos, was a mere hoax, as his sales
records did not justify the large inflow of money into
his bank account. A Hyundai Tucson Jeep was
seized as an exhibit during the raid operation.
It was also discovered that suspected drug
proceeds were regularly deposited in the said bank
account by members of an international drug cell
that smuggle cocaine from South America to West
Africa.
