₦6.5bn worth of heroin intercepted at Lagos Airport

A consignment of 26.150 kilograms of heroin with a street value of over a ₦6.5 billion has been intercepted at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

In a statement by its spokesman on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA explained that the illicit drugs had arrived in Lagos in 25 parcels from South Africa through an Air Peace Airline flight on June 30 and was detained for screening following suspicion of the content of the consignment.

Babafemi added that a follow-up operation was subsequently carried out the following day when narcotics officers of the MMIA command trailed the driver and a clearing agent that were assigned to deliver the consignment to the house of a baron, Tony Chidi Onwurolu at No. 132 Lateef Adegboyega Street, off Ago palace way by Grandmate bus stop Okota, Lagos.

It was gathered that during the follow-up operation, Tony Chidi Onwurolu, who obviously mounted counter-surveillance around his neighborhood fled his home before the arrival of the team of operatives who stormed his residence.

The operatives were , however able to search his home and recovered a number of documents to establish his true identity.

However, the Chairman of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) has directed that the fleeing drug baron, Tony Chidi Onwurolu, be declared wanted immediately, adding that his details submitted to Interpol for tracking across the world.

Marwa, also directed the Agency’s Directorate of Assets and Financial Investigations as well as the Directorate of Intelligence to deploy their networks to fast track the arrest of Onwurolu.

He noted that in view of the volume of heroin brought into the country by the fleeing baron, the agency would deploy all available mechanisms, locally and internationally, to track him and bring him to face charges in the law court.

“Those who have been on the run for 10 years and some for five years, we have since tracked them and are now facing charges while cooling their heels behind bars. The latest one won’t be an exception, because he can only run but can’t hide for too long before we get him,”  the NDLEA boss said.