Two suspected female drug traffickers identified as Abdulrasaq Modinat Alake and Mbonu Chizoba have been arrested by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos in connection with the exportation of 4.450kg of cocaine to India and 7kg of cannabis to China.


One of the suspects, Chizoba, is a second time offender as she had been arrested for the same offence in 2013. She has a pending case at the Federal High Court Ikoyi. When interrogated, the married mother of two said

“I accept blame for not checking the bag carefully when a client gave it to me. My job is risky because we assist people in clearing cargoes. I feel bad that this is happening to me when the first case is still on”.

The second suspect, Alake(45) from Kwara State said her quest to settle her medical bills made her venture into the illicit business

“I was married but later separated. I am the only person taking care of myself. My business was booming before I had a health challenge. I used to buy clothes from India and Dubai for supply in Lagos since 2011. My problem started when the doctor said I need to do a surgical operation costing $5,000. Before now, I have spent my money on medical bills in hospitals. That was how I met a man in India during my last visit who promised to pay for my medical expenses. He also told me to take a bag of cocaine to India. It was all about regaining my health but I never knew it will end this way,” she said

NDLEA Airport Commander Ahmadu Garba said the suspects will be charged to court soon.