Edo Politician Caught With Cocaine

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An Edo State politician, who contested the 2007 House of Assembly election, has been arrested with 100 wraps of cocaine he concealed in his stomach.

The 52-year old pharmacist,  Eme Zuru Ayortor a.k.a. Paul Osimele Shegee, was apprehended by officials of The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos while attempting to board a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, Germany with cocaine weighing 2.12 kilogrammes.

NDLEA in a statement this morning by its Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, said that the suspect claimed to have relied on his physique and social status to evade arrest. The agency said that Eme was trying to raise money for the 2011 election into the Edo State House of Assembly.

Eme taught at Baptist High School Benin City before going to the United States where he studied pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin. He returned to Nigeria in 2006 and the following year he contested for a seat at the Edo State House of Assembly but lost.

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According to the suspect, “I contested the 2007 House of Assemble election in Edo State and lost. I also lost all my savings as a practising pharmacist in that election. Now, the coast is clear and I am being favoured to run in 2011 in my party. That was how I got involved in this mess. I needed to reposition myself for the 2011 election financially. I thought that with my position and appearance, there will be no problem at the screening. I do not know where to start from here,” Eme lamented.

NDLEA Chairman, Ahmadu Giade, in his reaction has assured that the agency is determined to expose anybody dealing in narcotic drugs under any guise. In addition to their exposure, Giade also stressed that they will be appropriately charged to court under the NDLEA Act.

“We do not look at faces in conducting drug screening and we are not moved by credentials. Whoever is dealing in narcotics shall be exposed and prosecuted in line with the Agency’s Act,” Giade warned.

NDLEA Airport commander Alhaji Hamza Umar said that the case is under investigation and that follow-up operation on the case has been positive. “A follow-up operation into the case is yielding very positive result and at the appropriate time more facts shall be released to the public,” Hamza said.

—Simon Ateba

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