Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) yesterday arrested Mrs. Saidat Bola Hassan at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The 48 year old mother of three was scheduled to fly to Jedda, Saudi Arabia, via an Egypt Airline flight en-route Cairo when she was apprehended during screening.
She had ingested about 80 wraps of a white powdery substance weighing 904 grammes that later tested positive for cocaine.
NDLEA Abuja airport Commander Mr. Hamisu Lawan said that efforts were made to protect her from any harm resulting from drug ingestion.
“As soon as we discovered that the suspected wraps she vomited tested positive for cocaine, we took measures to ensure her safety by preventing any harm that may result from drug ingestion. While under observation, she excreted sixty-five (65) similar wraps. In all, she ingested eighty wraps of cocaine weighing 904 grammes; her case is under investigation” Hamisu stated.
Chairman of NDLEA, Col. Mohammad Mustapha Abdallah (rtd) said
“This is gross ineptitude on the part of a mother saddled with the responsibility of nurturing her children into future leaders. I am glad that she did not die from drug ingestion and she is alive to face trial. Besides escaping the risk of swallowing cocaine, this arrest also saved her because drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia is punishable by death. She will soon be charged to court because the law must run its full course. I expect the general public to learn lessons from this case that drug trafficking leads to pain, ignominy and untimely death,” Abdallah said.
Narrating her ordeal, Mrs. Saidat Bola Hassan, a native of Idiroko, Ogun State who resides in Lagos Island said that she is a business woman dealing in clothing materials. According to her,
“I am a business woman and I sell women clothes at Balogun Market. I used to buy my goods from Ghana. I was introduced into the drug business by a friend and business partner. The drug was brought from Abidjan, Ivory Coast and we were to share the proceeds equally. Until my arrest, I never knew that the cocaine I ingested would have led to my death in Saudi Arabia. I thank God for keeping me alive”.
Source: Vanguard
