Thailand Returnee Caught with N3.1bn Heroin at Lagos Airport

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Oguejiofor Nnaemeka Simon Peter, a 29-year-old mechanical engineering graduate from Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, was apprehended for attempting to smuggle 13.30kg of heroin into Nigeria.

The illicit substance, valued at over N3.192 billion, was discovered at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

The NDLEA's statement released detailed that Oguejiofor had traveled from Thailand via Qatar Airways, with a stopover in Doha. His luggage, originally destined for Accra, Ghana, was rerouted to Nigeria in an attempt to evade security checks. The heroin was ingeniously concealed within six backpacks, which were packed into two large suitcases.

Oguejiofor's arrest is part of a broader crackdown by the NDLEA on drug trafficking. Alongside this arrest, the agency intercepted a substantial quantity of opioids, including 32,607,900 tramadol pills and 1,451,994 bottles of codeine-based syrup, across three major seaports in Lagos and Rivers State.