Dorothy Onyekasi had all the features of a pregnant woman when she stepped into the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, yesterday, on her way from Dubai, United Arabs Emirate (UAE).
Her dressing, protruding tummy and manner of walking were true to type.
But that was until she had to go through screening by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) whose agents found her pregnancy to be fake.
Instead of pregnancy, Onyekas, 41, had strapped to her body substance suspected to be cocaine.
The mother of three, according to the agency’s spokesman, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, faked her pregnancy with 86 pellets of substance that tested positive for cocaine.
He said: “The drug was intercepted during the inward screening of passengers on an Emirates flight from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
“The substance has a total weight of 1.720 kilogrammes with an estimated street value of N20.6 million.”
The NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport, Ahmadu Garba, said the wraps of cocaine would have been easily mistaken for pregnancy.
“It was discovered that the suspect kept 86 wraps of cocaine inside a waist bag which was tied to her stomach.
“The drug was detected by NDLEA officers on her arrival from Dubai. The drug was immediately packed and weighed in her presence.
“It had a gross weight of 1.720 kilogrammes,” Ahmadu stated.
She is expected to be charged to court soon.
The suspect said it was all her fault, saying: “While I was preparing to return, I met a man in Dubai who gave me the drug and promised to give me enough money to expand my business.
“He also told me that when I get to Nigeria, he would call his partner to collect the drug and give me my money. When I got here, the drug was detected at the airport and I was arrested. It is all my fault. If only I was contented with the profit from the sales of my goods; I would not have been in this problem”.
Dorothy who hails from Enugu State is a Junior Secondary School certificate holder.
