The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Chadian woman Vivien Tarmadji at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, while trying to board an Ethiopian Airline flight 911 en route Addis Ababa-Italy with 234.35 grams of heroin concealed in her private part.
Tarmadji runs a saloon business in Italy since 2016 upon her relocation to the country via Libya, a statement on Friday by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said.
She was arrested by narcotics agents during an outward clearance of the airline at the boarding gate after being scanned.
The statement said that on interrogation the woman claimed she was contacted by a man who called her from Italy to collect the substance from a man who delivered it to her in a hotel she lodged in Lagos early in the morning before she took her flight to Abuja same day for onward journey to Italy.
She further claimed that the man brought 50 wraps of heroin for her to swallow but she could not, and as such, she decided to insert 18 wraps into her private part and returned the remaining to the man that brought the drug to her in the hotel.
Tarmadji allegedly said she came into Nigeria to raise money to pay for her house and shop rents which had expired in Italy, as life has been difficult since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The statement added that the Chadian said the owner of the drug was to pay her 10,000 euros on successful delivery to Italy.
