By Adekunbi Lawal
News of arrests and seizures published by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on January 28, 2024, included a Brazil returnee who was caught at the Lagos International Airport with 60 wraps of cocaine he ingested from Sao Paulo.
Nigerians who have been following the NDLEA weekly digest for the past three years since the agency rebooted notice that major arrests of cocaine trafficking into the country always include a man or woman returning from Brazil. Nearly all of the suspects always claimed they were forced to undertake the criminal risk of serving as drug mules because of an urgent need for money.
Eight countries including Brazil, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Russia demand that Nigerians coming into their territories tender visa clearance certificates from NDLEA because some of them are designated as “source countries” for illicit drugs.
Therefore, anyone coming into Nigeria from such countries is also a potential candidate for scrutiny at the airport.
Some traffickers who tried to be smart would first fly to another country or fly an airline that will stop-over in a neutral country in order not to raise a red flag when they touchdown in Nigeria.
Well, the sad news for them is that it is obvious the NDLEA is ahead of that game, hence the consistency in arresting drug mules coming into Nigeria, especially from Brazil.
Usually, it always turns out that the families and relations of most of the arrested suspects had no idea about what their kin were up to; and some of them were not aware of the possible implications of travelling to certain source countries where they had no prior roots, either of education or business.
The truth is today, many have travelled to such countries and failed to return home, while their families lived in the false hope that they were probably trying hard to make ends meet and expected them to be back at a later date.
The cold truth is many Nigerians are languishing in prisons of foreign countries for drug trafficking offences.
In 2018, at least 600 Nigerians were in Chinese prisons some of whom were incarcerated for drug trafficking. In 2018-2019, Nigerians were the most frequently arrested foreign nationals for drug trafficking in Brazil, and their number was in the thousands. In 2023, 270 Nigerians were detained in Ethiopian prisons for drug trafficking. We have a lot of Nigerians in India, Thailand, Malaysia, and UAE, all incarcerated for drug trafficking.
This is a wake-up call for parents especially to be aware of this global menace now that the youths are desperate to “JAPA” out of the country by any means possible.
Certain countries should raise red flags and also questions from families and friends to those who want to migrate to such countries.
Migration has a pattern; if you are searching for greener pastures, then you must have some skills or qualifications that are sought-after in the country of interest; if the reason to emigrate is to search for the golden fleece, then the country must be such that is known for providing quality educational service; and for those seeking asylum, we know countries that are favourably disposed to that.
Nigerians seeking to go abroad need to be wary of fake promises of a good job that could later become a trap that could turn them into drug couriers and ultimately lead to their arrest, prosecution and imprisonment, which would bring shame and reproach on their family and cumulatively dent Nigeria’s image.
The government through NDLEA is doing the most; the society also could lend a hand to ensure that drug trafficking is stamped out of our country.
• Lawal writes from Jabi, Abuja.