Bitter Honeymoon: Debt-Ridden Groom Arrested With 72 Pellets Of Cocaine In Stomach At Enugu Airport
ENUGU, NIGERIA — A newly married businessman’s journey to start a new life in Europe has taken a catastrophic turn after operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intercepted him at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) in Enugu with a stomach full of illicit drugs.
Lovely Chukwulobelu, 25, was arrested just as he was about to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight bound for Portugal via Addis Ababa.
Following his interception, Chukwulobelu was placed under excretion observation, where he eventually expelled 72 wraps of cocaine.
According to the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, during interrogation, the suspect confessed to the crime, revealing a desperate motive behind the high-stakes smuggle.
He stated that he had travelled to Nigeria to get married but plunged himself into severe financial distress to fund the wedding ceremonies.
According to the agency, Chukwulobelu claimed he resorted to drug trafficking as a last-gasp measure to clear his mounting, marriage-induced debts before returning to his base in Europe.
The arrest was part of a massive, multi-state crackdown by the anti-narcotics agency, which also saw the interception of over ₦3 billion worth of opioids at the Lagos airport and the dismantling of cross-border trafficking syndicates across Lagos, Oyo, Edo, and Bauchi states.
Instead of a honeymoon in Europe, Chukwulobelu now faces severe federal drug trafficking charges.
