The male suspect excreted 82 wraps of cocaine with a gross weight of 1.822kgs in five excretions, while Ms Ilonzeh egested 101 wraps in four excretions.
A fake couple purportedly going for medical treatment in India has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The 'couple' who ingested 184 wraps of cocaine weighing 3.322 kilogrammes, with 100 grammes of the drug also concealed in the woman's pubic area, was intercepted in the airport in Lagos.
Femi Babafemi, the agency's spokesperson, said in a statement on Sunday.
The drug agency also disclosed that its operatives intercepted heroin, meth consignments concealed in beads, soap bars, and an MP3 Player going to New Zealand, Greece and Hong Kong.
Fake couple
The fake couple, identified as Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi and Ilonzeh Roseline Nonyelum, was intercepted at Screening Point 1, Terminal 1 of the international wing of the Lagos airport on 1 August while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airline flight to India.
The male suspect excreted 82 wraps of cocaine with a gross weight of 1.822kgs in five excretions, while Ms Ilonzeh egested 101 wraps in four excretions.
Although their travel documents show consistency in their names and depict them as a couple, preliminary investigation revealed that the intended passengers were not a couple but obtained the travel papers in the same surname to beat security checks at the airport.
The woman later gave her real name as Nkechi Ngogbike, the agency said.
At the screening point, the NDLEA operatives subjected them to a body scan.
"The scan confirmed they both ingested drugs, as a result of which they were later placed on excretion observation at the agency's facility," the statement read.
Confession
According to the anti-narcotic agency, the female suspect confessed that she was recruited in her church in Aba, Abia State, where she lives.
"The suspect, Ilonzeh Roseline Nonyelum (aka Ngogbike Nkechi), stated further that she is a divorcee and that Kingsley with whom she was travelling is not her husband but connected only for the illicit drug business trip," Mr Babafemi said.
"She revealed that her arranged husband, Kingsley, brought the pellets of cocaine to her in her room to ingest in the hotel where they were both lodged in separate rooms the previous day, Monday 31st July.
"After their arrest, a thorough search conducted on her led to the discovery of a big size wrap of cocaine that weighed 100 grams she inserted into her private part. She confessed that she was promised Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000) upon successful delivery of the drug in India."
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Her counterpart, who trades clothes in Onitsha, Anambra State, claimed he was promised $2,000 after successfully delivering the drug in India.
Mr Babafemi said their investigation shows that the male suspect had been arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja on 19 March 2022 for ingesting 100 wraps of cocaine weighing 2.243kgs upon his arrival from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on board an Ethiopian airline flight.
"His travel documents then contained his real name: Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian," the statement said.
"After his arrest at the Abuja airport on 19th March 2022 along with another suspect, Iro Elvis Uche, who also ingested 65 wraps of cocaine with a gross weight of 1.376kgs, Uwaezuoke was subsequently arraigned before Justice Zainab Abubakar of the Federal High Court Abuja with charge number: FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022.
"He was eventually granted bail by the court pending the conclusion of his trial. He was still on the court bail when he was arrested at the Lagos airport for a similar offence on Tuesday 1st August."
The agency also recovered 272 grammes of dextromethorphan mixed with heroin going to Greece from white neck beads, and 665 grammes of cannabis being shipped to Hong Kong were hidden in bathing soap bars.
