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”.
