Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers State, have apprehended a 44-year-old businessman for ingesting 53 wraps of cocaine.
The suspect, identified as Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian, was intercepted while attempting to board Qatar Airways Flight QR1434 to Tehran Khomeini International Airport in the Islamic Republic of Iran via Doha.
This arrest comes just two weeks after NDLEA operatives at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, detained a 60-year-old businessman, Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, who was en route to Iran with 65 pellets of cocaine in his stomach.
According to a statement released on Sunday, June 15, 2025, by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, a body scan confirmed the ingestion of illicit drugs. Christian was subsequently placed under excretion observation, during which he expelled 53 wraps of cocaine in six excretions, weighing a total of 1.172 kg.
Babafemi revealed that the suspect admitted to engaging in the illicit trade for the past two years, operating between the West African sub-region and Iran.
The statement partially reads, “Barely two weeks after NDLEA operatives at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, arrested a 60-year-old businessman, Chinedu Leonard Okigbo, with 65 pellets of cocaine en route to Iran, their counterparts at Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA) have arrested another businessman, 44-year-old Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian, for ingesting 53 wraps of the same substance while on his way to Tehran Khomeini, Islamic Republic of Iran.”
“Ezemokwe was arrested at the Port Harcourt airport on Saturday, June 7, while trying to board Qatar Airways Flight QR1434 flying to Tehran Khomeini in Iran via Doha.
“After a body scan proved positive for ingestion of the illicit drug, he was placed on excretion observation, during which he expelled 53 wraps of cocaine in six excretions with a total weight of 1.172 kg.”
Hidden In Private Parts
In May, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) reported foiling an attempt by a woman to smuggle a significant quantity of cocaine to Iran through Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers State.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the suspect, identified as Ihensekhien Miracle Obehi, concealed the drugs in her private part, her stomach, and hidden compartments in her handbag.
Dressed in a hijab to evade security checks, Obehi was intercepted at the airport’s departure hall on Sunday, May 3, 2025, while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Iran via Doha, following actionable intelligence.
A search revealed that the suspect had inserted three wraps of cocaine into her private part, hidden two large parcels in false compartments of her handbag, and swallowed 67 pellets of the illicit substance.
