Celestine Ikechukwu Okonkwo, 39, a suspected
drug trafficker has this to say: “God bless Nigeria! There is no poverty here
except a person chooses to be poor.”
While narrating his ordeal in the hands of a
drug baron who sponsored his trip to Brazil under the guise of white collar job
and a good standard of living, he said “I’ll never forget the day a young man came to my
shop to buy shirt. He told me he is from Anambra State and that he lives in
Brazil.
He also promised to help me with a good job
opportunity over there. Honestly, I was excited. I felt it was answer to my age
long prayer. He collected my phone number and left. That was how it all
started.
” Okonkwo recalled that after three months, the
man called him that he was back to Nigeria. The mysterious stranger, like a
Father Christmas, told him that he had prepared an international passport and
also secured a visa for him.
“He told
me to get set to travel any time. A few weeks later, he brought my ticket and I
travelled to Brazil in January 2015. He
gave me the name of the hotel where I would stay pending when he would get me a
job. I was eventually abandoned to suffer. When I exhausted my money, I began
to sleep in a church. I also began to work for a Nigerian woman who owns a
restaurant in order not to starve to death,” stated Okonkwo.
The
suspect stated that “Nobody discussed drug trafficking with me while in Nigeria.It
was after I had lived in the church for some months that my sponsor located me
in Sau Paulo. I was told that there was no free lunch in Brazil and that I have
suffered and experienced difficult life in Brazil.
This was the point they introduced drug
trafficking as the only way out. They said that was what people do to make
money. It took me about seven hours to swallow 70 wraps of cocaine. I was
inexperienced because it was my first time. They promised to pay me N400, 000
when I get to Nigeria.”
According to the NDLEA Commander at the Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja, Mr. Hamisu Lawan , “The suspect
tested positive to drug ingestion while returning from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
He later excreted 70 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.326kg.” Ahmadu Giade ,NDLEA Chairman, said and warns that “There is nothing wrong in seeking greener pastures but people must be properly guided. Travelling out of the country without money to pay for your accommodation. and feeding is ill-advised. Those who promise job opportunities overseas are after their selfish interest,”
He later excreted 70 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.326kg.” Ahmadu Giade ,NDLEA Chairman, said and warns that “There is nothing wrong in seeking greener pastures but people must be properly guided. Travelling out of the country without money to pay for your accommodation. and feeding is ill-advised. Those who promise job opportunities overseas are after their selfish interest,”
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