NDLEA Re-Arrests Ex-Convict with N4.6 Billion Cocaine at Lagos Airport
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted Christian Ogbuji, a 48-year-old businessman and ex-convict, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, with 817 wraps of cocaine weighing 19.4 kilograms and valued at over N4.6 billion. This arrest comes barely 16 months after his conviction for ingesting 93 pellets of cocaine.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Ogbuji was initially arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, on May 10, 2023, for ingesting 93 cocaine pellets weighing 1.986 kilograms upon his return from Uganda via Addis Ababa. He was convicted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, with an option to pay a N3 million fine, which he did.
Despite his prior conviction, Ogbuji was apprehended again on September 18, 2024, during an inward clearance of passengers from an Ethiopian Airlines flight at the Lagos airport. After initially passing through NDLEA’s examination, he attempted to retrieve a concealed black backpack from the carousel and hide it in his previously cleared luggage. Vigilant officers intercepted him and discovered the concealed cocaine.
Investigations revealed that the 817 cocaine pellets, weighing 19.4 kilograms, were part of a larger operation involving multiple traffickers
