A 20-year-old British-Ghanaian man, identified as Parker Darren Hazekia Osei, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for attempting to smuggle nearly 20 kilograms of cannabis into Nigeria.
He was intercepted on Thursday, April 3, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos during routine inward clearance for passengers arriving on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Bangkok, Thailand. The arrest took place at the E-Arrival Hall, where officials discovered a suspiciously large travel bag in his possession.
Upon inspection, NDLEA operatives uncovered 36 tightly packed parcels of “Loud”—a potent, high-grade strain of cannabis—hidden within the bag. The total weight of the illicit substance was confirmed to be 19.40 kilograms.
This is what happened after the Cannabis was discovered
According to a statement released by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy for the NDLEA, preliminary investigations indicate that Osei had traveled from London to Bangkok a week prior to his arrest. He reportedly obtained the drug consignment in Thailand and intended to deliver it in Nigeria.
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Osei claims to be a Computer Science student at the University of East London and says he resides in the UK with his parents. He told investigators that he left London for Bangkok, where he acquired the drugs, before flying into Lagos with the illegal cargo.
The NDLEA has since launched a deeper investigation into the case, as authorities seek to unravel the full extent of the drug trafficking network involved in the operation.
