| Man, 26, pregnant with
heroin
By BEIFOH OSEWELE
Thursday, July 8, 2004
Okonkwo Ugochukwu Joseph, 26, comes across as quite innocent.
In fact, a crucifix dangling from his neck further reinforces
that notion. But then, it is apparently nothing but a facade.
However, the young man’s attempt to hoodwink men of
the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency with his looks failed
as he was arrested May 2 on arrival from Karachi, Pakistan
with 71 wraps of heroin weighing 1.135 kilogrammes concealed
in his stomach.
Okonkwo was said to have developed complications while on
observation because he could not excrete all the hard drugs
he ingested. Following a surgical operation at a government
hospital in Lagos, 71 wraps of hard drugs were recovered from
his stomach.
He was said to have made a confessional statement to officials
of NDLEA that an unnamed man who gave him the drugs made him
swallow 25 capsules of flagyl and some capsules of tetracycline.
Though pale, Okonkwo who was among 12 others (10 males and
two females) paraded by NDLEA before the media Wednesday remained
defiant and unremorseful.
"I don’t have anything to say", he shouted
at the hordes of newshounds who had fired a barrage of questions
at him. Apparently enjoying the attention he was getting from
the journalists, Okonkwo who described himself as a businessman
even managed a smile.
Upon further prodding, he declared angrily that he had no
regrets.
"Do I have any regrets? No. I don’t care. Regrets
for what? I am a Pakistani. What do you want to know about
that? I am a businessman".
Further attempts to make him talk met a brick wall.
Also paraded were Mbamara Okeke, 26, Chukwudike Chukwudike,
29, Uchegbu Kingsley, 28, Josephine Aderoju, 19, Ibekwe Patience
Nkechi, 41 and Uba Nduka Okpan, 36.
Others were Eleka Emma Tochim, 36, Giwa Abiodun Waliu, 41,
Obineme Iyke Chris, 36 and Abdu Fatai Olori, 40.
Meanwhile, Alhaji Abdullahi Danburam, Commander of the NDLEA
at MMIA said the agency has made 65 arrests in the first half
of this year and made a seizure of 159.580 kilogrammes of
hard drugs and psychotropic substances. According to Danburam,
in the corresponding period of last year, it recorded 44 arrests
and seized 97.648 kilogrammes of drugs and psychotropic substances.
He also disclosed that 55 Nigerians deported from various
countries abroad for various drug related offences were arrested
in the first half of the year as against 48 in the same period
last year. He, however, denied that it was because drug peddlers
were on the increase.
"We’re becoming more professional, committed and
dedicated. It is because we’ve been able to block all
the loopholes they used to outwit us and not because the number
of drug peddlers are on the increase.
He revealed that the recently acquired digital X-ray machine
was helping a lot. "With it, we can examine up to 10
people within five minutes. This, coupled with the commitment
and dedication of the officers, we’re getting good results.
"Our major headache, however, has remained the lack of
cooperation from arrested traffickers who have refused to
divulge reliable information on their patners in crime behind
the scenes." |
