The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has arrested Nwabueze Izueke, a 62-year-old Lagos-based businessman, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, for allegedly attempting to traffic cocaine to China.

A statement on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said Izueke was apprehended on Saturday, during the outward clearance of passengers travelling to China via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940.

Babafemi said the suspect tested positive for ingesting illicit drugs after a body scan and was placed under excretion observation, during which he expelled 95 jumbo-sized pellets of cocaine weighing 1.589 kilograms in seven rounds.

According to the NDLEA, Izueke, who claimed to be into clothing and auto spare parts business in Lagos, said he ventured into drug trafficking to raise funds to complete a house he is building in his hometown, Iwollo, Enugu state.