Nigerian authorities seized 19.4 kg (42.77 pounds) of cocaine valued at 4.66 billion naira ($2.93 million) from a passenger arriving at Lagos airport on a flight from Ethiopia, the country's anti-drug agency reported on Tuesday.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested a 48-year-old Nigerian businessman on September 18. The man, who had previously been convicted of drug trafficking but avoided jail time by paying a fine, was allegedly found with 817 wraps of cocaine in his possession.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with over 200 million people, has in recent years gone from being a transit point for gangs moving drugs between South America and Europe to a full-blown consumer and distributor.
“The agency will continue to work to disrupt the activities of drug cartels operating in the country,” NDLEA chief Mohammed Buba Marwa said in a statement.
($1 = 1,593.0700 naira)
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