I went into drug trafficking to get money for marriage – Suspect

A 36-year-old man freed on bail after being charged with possession of

cocaine has been arrested again for the same offence, only this time

he ingested heroin.



Nnaemeka Benjamin, who has a case of drug trafficking pending against

him in court, has been again caught red handed in the same illicit

act.

According to reports, the accused, who is standing trial for cocaine

smuggling at the Lagos High Court, Ikoyi, was re-arrested with 1.820kg

of heroin by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency

(NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

Nnaemeka, who just completed the excretion of heroin he ingested,

tested positive for narcotic ingestion during the inward screening of

passengers on an Etihad flight from Pakistan last weekend.



The accused was first arrested in August 2009 with 1.796kg of cocaine

on his way from Brazil. He was charged to court but later released on

bail. He was re-arrested for importing 1.820kg of heroin on his way

from Pakistan. According to NDLEA, preliminary investigation indicated

that the suspect excreted some of the drugs in the flight.



In 2009, Nnaemeka was caught with Nigerian international passport

number A00052663 while in 2013 he was caught with another Nigerian

passport number A02349133. It was also gathered that the suspect was

recruited to smuggle the drug for a fee of N4 million.

The suspect, in his confessional statement, told NDLEA officials that

he went back to drug trafficking because of unemployment.



"I am long overdue to marry but I have no wife. I know that what I did

is bad but it is due to unemployment. I was first arrested in 2009

when I went to Brazil to smuggle Cocaine. When I came out on bail,

there was no job for me to do. Although my case with the NDLEA is

pending in court; I decided to try again hoping that I might be lucky.

This time around they promised to pay me four million naira. My

intention was to settle down because I want to be working rather than

staying idle. I am still single at my age. It is not that I do not

want to be married but there is no money and no job", he stated.



NDLEA Airport Commander, Hamza Umar said that the suspect was arrested

after he tested positive to drug ingestion. "Nnaemeka Benjamin Anayo

tested positive for drug ingestion during the inward screening of

Etihad passengers. While searching his luggage, some wraps of drugs

which he excreted on the flight were found on him. He excreted a total

of 100 wraps weighing 1.820kg" Hamza stated.