NDLEA arrests another pastor with heroin

Few weeks after a Lagos-based pastor was arrested at the Murtala International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, for smuggling narcotics to South Africa, officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport,Enugu, have arrested another Lagos pastor for drug trafficking.

The suspect, Daniel Lanre Akintola, 43, was found with 1.978kg of heroin concealed in a false bottom of his luggage. Another suspect, Onwuegbusi Tochukwu Victor, 48, was also found with 51.5kg of ephedrine inside his luggage.

NDLEA commander at the Enugu Airport, Mr. Nsikak-Abasi Udoh, said that the 43-year-old pastor wanted to abandon his luggage at the arrival hall for fear of arrest.

“Mr. Daniel Lanre Akintola unlawfully possessed 1.978kg of heroin while returning from Entebbe, a major town in Central Uganda. He wanted to abandon the luggage but we detected his intention.

“The drug was carefully concealed in a false bottom of his luggage. The second suspect is a businessman who had parcels of ephedrine weighing 51.5kg which he wanted to smuggle to Maputo, Mozambique.

“The suspects are being investigated,” Udoh stated.

Akintola, who claimed ownership of the bag containing heroin, said he was returning from a pastor’s conference.