A 59-year-old businessman, Chijioke Nnanna Igbokwe, underwent an exploratory laparotomy surgery to remove 57 out of 81 pellets of cocaine that were lodged in his stomach after ingesting them seven days earlier in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Igbokwe was arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) on January 26, after arriving on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
A body scan revealed the presence of drugs in his system, leading to his detention for observation.
Investigations showed that Igbokwe, who claims to run a clothing business in Lagos, left Lagos on January 22 for Addis Ababa.
There, on January 23, he swallowed the 81 cocaine pellets before traveling to Beirut, Lebanon, to deliver the drugs for a $3,000 fee.
However, upon arriving in Beirut, he was denied entry due to having less than the required $2,000 and was deported back to Addis Ababa.
After attempting and failing to expel the drugs, he returned to Lagos on January 25, where he was arrested by NDLEA agents the following day.
During five days of excretion observation, Igbokwe only expelled 24 pellets, despite receiving medical care at the NDLEA medical facility and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).
Given his worsening condition and underlying health issues, he was admitted to LASUTH on January 30, where he underwent the surgery to remove the remaining 57 cocaine pellets from his stomach.
In total, 81 pellets, weighing 1.943 kilograms, were recovered.
