‘I voluntarily inserted cocaine into my anus’

A 46-year-old businessman said he willing volunteered to assist some drug barons to traffic cocaine via his anus after he heard them discuss at a beer parlour. The suspect, Nzom Tochukwu, said that unlike other drug couriers who used to claim they were tricked or forced, his own case was different. The father of two said he offered his services in exchange for money, adding that he would have been paid $1,500 if he had succeeded in taking the cocaine to its final destination.

He said: “I was drinking with friends when I heard them talk about drugs. I actually volunteered to smuggle drugs because of my financial situation. They agreed to pay me $1,500 because it was only three wraps weighing 225 grams. I am from a poor home.” Tochukwu was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for inserting 225 grams of cocaine into his anus.

The head, Media and Publicity, NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said the suspect was to board an Air France flight to Paris at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos when he tested positive for narcotics. He said: “Two other suspects were also caught with 915 grams and 1.225kg of cocaine from Brazil on an Emirates flight.”

NDLEA Commander at the Lagos Airport, Mr Hamza Umar, gave the names of other suspects as Henry Idehen and Chinedu Ilemena. He said: “Tochukwu, who was going to Paris, inserted 225 grams in his anus. Two other suspects coming from Brazil, Idehen ingested 56 wraps weighing 915 grams and Ilemena concealed 1.225kg of cocaine. The total weight of the drugs seized from the suspects is 2.365kg.”

Ilemena also said that he too requested to smuggle drugs because of financial hardship. He said: “I’m married to a Brazilian lady and we have a child. I work as a sales boy in a supermarket. I dropped out of school in Junior Secondary School 3. I overheard some of my friends discuss drugs and I indicated interest. That was how it started. “The drug was packed in a bag for me and they promised to pay me $2,500 dollars.

I’m so sad, disappointed and ashamed of myself.”