Nigeria Content Online

The two Chinese
suspects and their Nigerian counterpart in connection with the unlawful
importation of 450.4kg of cocaine at the Tin Can Island Port, will be
arraigned today (Monday) at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The accused
persons, Fong Chui Sen, Wang Richard, and Inua Mohammed, who are to
appear before Justice O. E. Abang of the High Court, were arrested last
month by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) following
intelligence from the British Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA),
and the United States Drug Enforcement Agency.

In its pledge to
further unmask other persons involved in the illicit trade, Ahmadu
Giade, chief executive of the anti-narcotics agency, over the weekend
disclosed that the NDLEA has conducted its investigations scrupulously,
and that one of the suspects has been confirmed to be a Taiwanese.

“On our part, we
have conducted a thorough investigation and we have a watertight case.
Diligent prosecution by our legal team shall be the icing on the cake,”
he said, adding “like the arrest of these accused persons, Nigerians
should expect more from us in line with our operational promise to
expose drug barons, as no one dealing in drugs will go unpunished.”
Mitchell Ofoyeju, spokesperson for the agency said that Count One
charge against the suspects states that “Fong Chui Sen and Wang
Richard, both male adults, between the months of March and July 2010 at
Ibadan and Kano, Nigeria, without lawful authority conspired to import
450.4kg of cocaine into Nigeria from Republic of Chile.

“They have thereby
committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 14(b) of
the NDLEA Act, CAP N30 Laws of the Federation 2004,” he said.

Societal Consequences of drugs

The agency’s boss
disclosed that drug businesses, though covertly done have serious
consequences on the social order, as he called on the general public to
unite in the fight against illegal smuggling of hard drugs.

“Illicit drug
transactions affect the public in so many ways. Apart from increasing
insecurity, drugs lead to money laundering and could adversely
undermine legitimate businesses,” said Mr. Giade.

“We must unite in
fighting against drug trafficking and abuse, and though the love for
money is attracting more people into the criminal act, one sure way of
tackling the problem is to increase the penal sanctions.”

Twenty suspects arrested at MMIA in July

Meanwhile, the
agency disclosed that it arrested 20 suspects for unlawfully
trafficking drugs last month at the Murtala Mohammed International
Airport (MMIA), Lagos with a total seizure of 28.13kg of narcotics.

The anti-narcotics
spokesperson said that 18 of the suspects are male while two are
female, adding that cocaine constitutes the bulk of the seized drugs
with 25.185kg, followed by cannabis with 1.5kg and then heroin with
1.445kg.

“The only heroin seizure in the month under review was ingested by a
professional lawn tennis player, Dairo Toyin. The last five suspects
caught in July ingested four hundred and twenty three (423) wraps of
substances that tested positive to cocaine,” said Mr. Ofoyeju.