Kingsley and Roseline Ilonzeh, a fake couple, have been apprehended by National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) agents for ingesting 184 wraps of cocaine.
This was said in a statement made on Sunday in Abuja by Mr. Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA.
He stated that the suspected drug traffickers were allegedly traveling to India for medical care.
100 grammes of the substance were hidden in the woman's private area, according to Babafemi, who estimated that the drug's total weight was 3.322 kilograms.
He further said that on August 1, when they attempted to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to India, the two suspects were apprehended at Screening Point 1, Terminal 1 of the international side of the Lagos airport.
Babafemi added that despite the fact that their travel documents consistently had both of their names and portrayed them as a couple, an NDLEA officer nonetheless chose to have them undergo a body scan.
The scan proved the couple had ingested drugs, and as a result, they were subsequently put under observation for excretion at the agency's facilities.
”Their travel documents identify the man as Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi and the lady to be Ilonzeh Roseline Nonyelum,
“Preliminary investigation reveals that the intending passengers are not a couple but obtained the travel documents in the same surname to beat security checks at the airport.
“The lady later gave her real name as Ngogbike Nkechi. During the interview, she confessed that she was recruited in her Church in Aba, Abia where she lives.
“The suspect, Ilonzeh Roseline Nonyelum (aka Ngogbike Nkechi) states further that she is a divorcee and that Kingsley, with whom she is travelling is not her husband but connected only for the purpose of the illicit drug business trip.
“She said that Kingsley, her arranged husband brought the pellets of cocaine to ingest her in the hotel where they both lodged in separate rooms on July, 31, ” he said.
The NDLEA spokesperson added that following their arrest, a thorough check of her revealed a large wrap of cocaine weighing 100 grams that she had pushed into her private part.
He claimed that the alleged drug trafficker admitted that she was promised a $5,000 payment if the drug was successfully delivered to India.
In his own account, Kingsley—a clothing dealer in Onitsha, Anambra—said he had also been promised $2,000 for the successful delivery of the drugs to India.
“A further search of the agency’s crime data base reveals that Kingsley also obtained his travel documents with fake identity for the trip.
“Indeed, it has been established that he was arrested by NDLEA operatives at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja on March 19, 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,” he said.
Upon being detained at the Abuja airport on March 19, 2022, along with another suspect, Iro Elvis Uche, who had consumed 65 wraps of cocaine totaling 1.376 kg, Uwaezuoke was later arraigned.
According to Babafemi, he was charged under charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022 and appeared before Justice Zainab Abubakar of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The suspect was ultimately given bail by the court, awaiting the outcome of his trial.
”He is still on the court bail when he was arrested at the Lagos airport for a similar offence on Aug. 1.
“Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi (aka Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian) excreted a total of 82 wraps of cocaine with a gross weight of 1.822kgs in five excretions.
“Ilonzeh Roseline Nonyelum (aka Ngogbike Nkechi) ingested 101 wraps in four excretions with a big size wrap of the substance recovered from her private part, all weighing 1.50kgs, ” he said.
