A Nigerian woman going on a Hajj in Saudi Arabia has been arrested after swallowing 82 pellets of cocaine.
Binuyo Basari Iyabo
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has nabbed a 55-year-old woman identified as Binuyo Basari Iyabo who was her way to Medina for the 2016 annual hajj exercise in Saudi Arabia.
She has now excreted the final wraps of cocaine ingested this weekend, according to officials. The final tally of wrapped packages excreted was 82 pellets, the NDLEA said.
Confirming the incident, spokesman of NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said Iyabo excreted the last wraps of the substance over the weekend while in their custody.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah described the action of the suspect as shameful and stated that the drug trafficker would be sanctioned in line with anti-narcotics laws.
He said, “It is a shameful and discreditable act for a 55 years old mother who is going on a holy pilgrimage to ingest narcotics. This is very shocking and a clear indication of her inability to effectively discharge parental responsibilities.
“The agency shall invoke the powers of the law against her and others caught indulging in production or trafficking of drugs."
Mrs. Iyabo was arrested during the outward screening of passengers on an Emirates Airlines flight to Dubai. If the suspect had been caught in Saudi Arabia, she would have been publicly executed according to the law of the land.
Mrs. Iyabo is said to hail from Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State and she’s married with three children and sells cosmetics at Dosumu Market in Lagos.
She further confessed that her sponsors, who she declined to mention, offered her the sum of N1 million to courier the drug to Saudi Arabia. She added that she had swallowed the drug in Lagos, but took a flight to Abuja in order to avoid detection in Lagos.
She confessed, "I am a trader in Lagos, married with three children. I wanted to expand my cosmetic business, but I have no money. My sponsor offered to foot my expenses to Saudi on pilgrimage. This was how I got involved in the act.
“I was excited until the issue of drugs was introduced. I wanted to decline, but it was late. Besides, I was offered one N1 million, which I accepted. I swallowed the drugs in Lagos and took a flight to Abuja on my way to Medina, but I was caught in the process.”
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