The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested an ex-convict, Onyeka Charles Madukolu, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, for bringing 5.90 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria concealed in deodorant and ladies’ lip gloss cans.
Madukolu, who was sentenced to seven years in prison in Ethiopia for drug trafficking offenses, was released in 2020 and arrested on Friday, September 16 at the Lagos airport on his way back from Sao Paulo, Brazil on an Ethiopian Airlines flight via Addis Ababa.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, a search of his luggage revealed 5.90kg of cocaine hidden inside cans of deodorants and female lip gloss.
During a preliminary interview, Onyeka claimed to have gone into the drug business to raise fresh capital to start a legitimate business after his release from Ethiopian prison in 2020, according to Babafemi.
Before getting into the criminal business, the father of two children, one from a Nigerian woman and one from a Brazilian woman, said he worked in the motor spare parts industry.
The 44-year-old Anambra State native said he expected to be paid N2 million if the illicit drug was successfully delivered to Nigeria.
