Agency arrests serial cocaine smuggler

Ejiro Henry, a 19-year old
cocaine trafficker, currently
standing trial for his
involvement in the illicit
trade, has been arrested
again for peddling hard
drugs.

Mr Henry, who was
apprehended the second time
on his way to Port Harcourt,
Rivers State, at the Murtala
Muhammed Airport 2, was
found with 167 wraps of
powdery material that the
Nigerian Drug Law
Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)
confirmed as cocaine,
weighing 2.45kg. “The
suspect was first arrested on
May 25, for allegedly
ingesting 73 wraps of
substances that tested
positive to cocaine weighing
1.285kg during screening of
Alitalia passengers to Italy,”
said Mitchell Ofoyeju,
spokesperson for the agency.

He also added that the
suspect was subsequently
charged to court and granted
bail on September 6.
According to him, the agency
confiscated the international
passport of the smuggler at
the time and documented his
Italian resident permit for
safe keeping.

Mr Ofoyeju explained that
the cocaine was found in a
polythene bag inside the
suspect ’s luggage, adding
that he was equally in
possession of a valid Air
France ticket, with which he
intends to “immediately”
travel to Italy the same day.
“ Also in his possession was
another international
passport, as well as an
Italian resident permit, as
the travel document
recovered from him in May is
still in the custody of the
agency,” he said.

The suspect, in a statement
from the anti-narcotics
agency, blamed his
involvement in illicit trade
this time on the devil, as he
explained that his first
attempt was as a result of his
financial difficulties. “I
actually needed money to
settle my bills when I was
first arrested but I cannot
explain this one; I think it is
the devil, ” he said.

Blame the courts
Ahmadu Giade, the Chief
Executive of NDLEA, said that
the granting of bail to
accused persons allow
smugglers to go back into the
criminal trade. According to
him, the next bail trial date
for the first charge against
the suspect is to come up on
November 4, 2010. “Bail
encourages long
adjournment, thereby
prolonging litigation
period, ” he said. “It also
provides a leeway for
accused persons to go back
into the illegal trade. When
they are in detained in prison
custody, cases are decided
within a short time because
they are usually agitated for
their cases to be fast
tracked. ”

Hamza Umar, the Lagos
airport commander for the
agency, however, commended
officials of Federal Airport
Authority for detecting the
drug and reporting it to the
NDLEA, describing the
collaboration as healthy for
effective security and safety
in the country. According to
Mr Ofoyeju, preliminary
investigations revealed that
the accused was adequately
prepared for the crime, as
the current passport found
with him was issued in March
before his first arrest. “The
new resident permit also
suggests that the accused has
established contacts in Italy
and he will soon be charged
to court in connection with
the latest arrest while he
will be appearing from
NDLEA custody in the on-
going trial, ” he said.