Nigerian Man Arrested for Smuggling Cocaine at Abuja Airport
Nigerian authorities have arrested Paul Mbadugha, a businessman attempting to smuggle 88 wraps of cocaine, weighing 1.7 kilograms, in his stomach from Abuja to Vietnam. Mbadugha was stopped at the boarding gate of Abuja International Airport after a body scan revealed he had ingested the drugs, according to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
While under observation, Mbadugha excreted the cocaine pellets and claimed that a friend from Lagos’ Isolo district had given him the drugs to transport. He stated that his friend convinced him to swallow the drug-filled wraps in exchange for a $2,000 payment.
Dr. Enyinna Omoke, an Abuja-based physician who witnessed the event, explained that cocaine is commonly trafficked using the method of ingestion or internal concealment. He cautioned that smuggling drugs internally can severely impact the central nervous system, leading to serious consequences, including brain damage, respiratory failure, and even death.
Common concealment areas include the gastrointestinal tract, vagina, and ears. Drug couriers often get caught due to unusual behavior, intoxication, or leakage from the packages inside their bodies.
In a similar incident last year, the NDLEA apprehended a notorious drug trafficker responsible for recruiting young Nigerians to smuggle cocaine into Europe. The trafficker was caught arranging for a courier to swallow 93 cocaine pellets intended for distribution in Italy.
