Women ingest, hide drugs in private parts

Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency attached to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos have apprehended two women for drug trafficking.

It was learnt that the suspects, 47-year-old Uzoma Alaka and Priscillia Chukwujekwu, 45, were nabbed after they were discovered to have ingested and inserted in their private parts, 2.6 kilogrammes of cocaine.

The women, who were on board a Qatar Airways flight en route to China, were said to have confessed to the crime, saying they smuggled cocaine because they were abandoned by their husbands.

Alaka said, “I sell female bags and shoes to sustain myself and my children. My husband left me in 2005 and since then I have been facing several challenges. I took loan to travel to China and in the process I incurred huge debt which compounded my problems.

“At a point, I had no money for food, school fees and even house rent. This was what made me to smuggle drugs. I swallowed 59 wraps of drugs all through the night because of $6,000. I also packed some in my underwear and my vagina. It was a terrible experience. I feel so sad that I have to end up this way as a Christian.”

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Chukwujekwu, who also claimed to be a victim of a broken marital home, said she engaged in drug trafficking to expand her business.

She said, “I am married to a soldier, but he abandoned me 10 years ago when he retired from the army. Since then my life had been sorrowful. I sell female clothes and shoes to take care of my children.

“I met a man at the market who promised to assist me in my business by making me an importer. He gave me recharge cards and money to sustain myself. It was the day I was to travel that he told me that I would take drugs to China. He took me to a hotel where I was given the drugs and $6,000 to buy my goods in China. I could only swallow ten wraps, so I forced some in my vagina and packed others in my underwear”.

The NDLEA commander at the Lagos Airport, Mr. Hamza Umar, confirmed the arrest and seizure, adding that the suspects were desperate.

“These women are curiously desperate for ingesting drugs, packing some on their bodies and inserting others in their vagina. They are both from Anambra State,” he said.

The Chairman of the agency, Ahmadu Giade, described the women’s action as “disgraceful.”