A 37-year-old mother of three, Ezeh Ifeoma Maureen, has been arrested with substances suspected to be cannabis by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
She was caught at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, during outward screening of China-bound Ethiopian Airlines' passengers for allegedly attempting to smuggle 6.200 kilogrammes of dried weeds that tested positive for cannabis.
The agency's Airport Commander, Mr. Hamza Umar, said the suspect told the officers that her bags contained vegetables and foodstuff.
"She declared the content of her bags as vegetables and foodstuff, but during a search, the vegetables turned out to be cannabis weighing 6.200 kilogrammes. The drug was packed in two parcels."
The suspect, who hails from Anambra State, said: "I am a business woman; I sell women's clothes at the Onitsha main market. I usually export foodstuff to China and import female dresses to Nigeria. One of my customers in China called to tell me that his brother would give me two parcels of vegetables to bring to him. I collected the parcels at the airport from the boy. Unfortunately, when they tested them, I was told that they contained cannabis."
Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, advised the public to learn from the cases of those arrested for drug trafficking. "This mother of three children would have been killed in China for drug trafficking if she was not apprehended here. It is important for the public to learn from her experience and shun drug trafficking," he said.
Giade warned passengers not to collect items from people, who will not be there during a search.
The suspect, Giade said, would be charged to court for unlawful possession of, and attempt to export cannabis.
