NDLEA PARADES PAKISTANI, 13 OTHERS FOR DRUG PEDDLING

LAGOS

A Pakistani was one of 14 suspects paraded yesterday for drug peddling
by the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Command of the
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)

The Pakistani (names withheld) was arrested on August 15, 2004 with
2kg of heroine on arrival aboard Kenya Airways from Nairobi.

The suspect, who said he was on a sojourn to Nigeria for a job
promised by his sponsor, said he was unaware that the drug was
concealed in his bag, as what was of importance to him was the job he
was coming for.

Commander of the MMIA command of the NDLEA, Alhaji Abdullahi Damburam,
told newsmen that the suspect concealed the hard drug in the false
bottom of his black hand luggage.

"The suspect claimed that his fellow Pakistani friend by name
Wajidshah in the Peshawar Province of Pakistan had promised him
employment in Nigeria with a Nigerian company.

"He arranged his visa and work permit and gave him the bag to pack his
belongings for the journey to Nigeria. The suspect said he never knew
there was drug in the bag and that he was asked to hold a white
handkerchief in his left hand with which he'll be identified and
picked outside the arrival hall to his intended work place," Alhaji
Damburan quoted the suspect as saying.

He said the NDLEA was currently conducting further investigation into
the matter, in collaboration with its international collaborators, in
order to get at all those connected with the case.

Damburam warned drug traffickers to desist from peddling drugs,
especially through the MMIA, adding that the agency's operatives were
on top of the situation at the airport.

He said the NDLEA would not only arrest drug offenders, confine them,
but also ensure that they were prosecuted in accordance with the laws
of the land.

At least 7.160kg of heroine and 11.800kg of cocaine were seized from
the drug traffickers who would appear in court soon.