The Saudi-bound
female pilgrim who was arrested last week by the National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency (NDLEA) has excreted the final wraps of cocaine, according to Sahara
Reporters.
55-year-old Basira
Iyabo from Kwara State was headed to Medina to perform the annual pilgrimage
when she was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja,
during the outward screening of passengers on an Emirates Airlines flight to
Dubai.
She excreted
seventy-six (76) pellets of cocaine and was then placed under observation until
she expelled all the injested drugs totaling 82 wraps. NDLEA spokesman,
Mitchell Ofoyeju, who confirmed the report said the married mother of three
excreted the last wraps of the substance over the weekend while in their
custody. The total weight of drugs excreted by the suspect was 931 grams.
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.
“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
arrangements had been concluded for her prosecution in the law court. If the
suspect had been caught in Saudi Arabia, she would have been publicly executed
according to the law of the land.
In her confessional
statement, the trader who sells cosmetics at Dosumu Market in Lagos 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 her sponsors, who
she declined to mention, offered her the sum of N1 million to courier the drug
to Saudi Arabia.
“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”
Photo credit:
NDLEA
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