A
52-year-old evangelist, John Arinze, has been arrested by the The National Drug
Law Enforcement Agency over his attempt to export N1.4bn worth of narcotics to
South Africa.
The
drugs, made of 92kgs of methamphetamine and 73kgs of ephedrine, were detected
inside two containers of foodstuff meant for export to South Africa at the
Apapa Seaport in Lagos.
A
statement by the NDLEA spokesperson, Mitchell Ofoyeju, on Friday said the
suspect, who is a Nigerian based in South Africa, was under interrogation
following an intense undercover operation by the agency and that he had
confessed to the crime. He added that sniffer dogs belonging to the agency
detected the drugs during screening operation.
The
statement partly read, “During examination of the containers marked MSKU
388274-1 and MSKU 424717-0; anti-narcotic officials detected 20kg of
Methamphetamine and 50kg of Ephedrine inside the first container. Also, 72Kg of
Methamphetamine and 23Kg of Ephedrine were detected in the second container.
The total weight of the drugs is 165kg.
“Officers
successfully traced the illicit consignment to a fifty-two year old man who
claimed to be an evangelist by name John Vincent Arinze who was arrested in his
hotel room in Lagos. A Mercedes Benz sport utility vehicle belonging to him was
also impounded at the time of arrest. The suspect hails from Ara village, Nise
in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State. John who had lived in
South Africa for over a decade accepted ownership of the illicit shipment.”
The
statement noted further that the drugs were hidden inside packs of melon,
concealed in foodstuff and cosmetics such as gaari (cassava flakes), noodles,
food seasoning, yam powder, some alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, pepper,
milk, herbal hair cream and cereals.
Other
items in the container were said to include hair cream, bags of melon, kegs of
palm oil, beans, biscuits and sardine.
The
suspect was said to have told the operatives in his statement that he made a
“big mistake” by taking over the business of his late wife, who was into drug
trafficking.
“I
am an evangelist living in Durban South Africa. My late wife was into drug
trafficking before she died few years ago. I made a mistake venturing into her
business. It is my fault,” he was quoted as saying.
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