National Drug Law Enforcement Agency operatives have seized drug consignments valued at ₦4.4 billion hidden in the lavatories of an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft.

The drugs, according to a statement on Sunday by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, were discovered during the post-landing cleaning of flight ET900 from Addis Ababa to Lagos on October 29, 2024.

Babafemi stated that the drugs were wrapped in nine polythene bags and concealed in the waste collectors in the two rear lavatories of the aircraft.

He added that at least 30 suspects are being questioned in connection with the drugs uncovered.

Babafemi said, “The attempt by members of an international drug syndicate operating between Brazil, Ethiopia, and Nigeria to smuggle into Lagos a total of 845 wraps of cocaine weighing 18.72 kilogrammes has been thwarted, with the consignments recovered by NDLEA operatives at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja.

“The drug consignments, worth ₦4,492,800,000 in street value, were recovered from two lavatories of an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft during the post-landing cleaning of flight ET900 from Addis Ababa to Lagos on Tuesday, October 29, 2024.

“The illicit drug consignments were wrapped in nine polythene bags and concealed in the waste collectors in the two rear lavatories of the aircraft, from where they were recovered after the MMIA Strategic Command of the NDLEA was alerted to the strange objects. No fewer than 30 suspects have so far been questioned in connection with the seizure.”

He added that “investigations revealed that the seized drugs were transported from Brazil to Ethiopia by ingestion and excreted in Addis Ababa by a group of couriers. Other traffickers then attempted to smuggle them into Nigeria through Lagos airport before their plan was thwarted with the cooperation of the airline’s authorities and other airport stakeholders.”

Meanwhile, Babafemi said drugs concealed in body cream containers and artworks were also recovered by the agency’s operatives.

He said, “In a similar vein, attempts by drug trafficking syndicates to export 2.928 kg of cocaine, cannabis, and tramadol 225 mg, concealed in body cream containers and pieces of artwork to Australia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom through courier companies in Lagos were also blocked by NDLEA officers from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, on Monday, October 28.”

At the Apapa seaport in Lagos, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives intercepted 754,000 pills of tapentadol and acetaminophen 225 mg worth ₦525 million in a targeted and watch-listed container from India during a joint examination with Customs Service officers and other security agencies, among others, on October 29, 2024.