By BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE

A 38-year-old South African woman (names withheld), who allegedly excreted 55 wraps of substance which tested positive for methamphetamine, weighing 700 grammes will soon be charged to court for drug trafficking by National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

She was arrested by NDLEA at Murtala Muhammed International, Airport, Lagos on 17 December.

Dropping the hint to newsmen in Lagos, NDLEA spokesman, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, said the suspect was about boarding an Emirates airplane when she developed stomach pains and called for medical assistance.

Ofoyeju said: “She gave herself up when she suddenly held her stomach in pain at the departure hall. She was to go through screening when, suddenly, she held her stomach and beckoned on security officials, demanding to see a doctor.

“Immediately, she was taken for a scan, which confirmed positive for narcotics ingestion.”

He pointed out that since the suspect got the drug in Cotonou, an umbrella body of anti-drug agencies in the West African sub-region, under the aegis of the West Africa Joint Operations, would be involved in the investigation.

He said: “We hope to dismantle the drug cell that sponsored the suspect, possibly under a joint operation since two countries are involved. Certainly, no stone shall be left unturned in this case.”

He said medical attention was offered to the suspect in order to save her life when she started having a situational reaction to the alleged ingested drug. He noted that preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect travelled to Malaysia from South Africa and from where she was recruited to smuggle drugs from Cotonou, Benin Republic, where she ingested the drug.

The suspect, was said to be a single mother of a 19-year-old girl.

She said: “My desire to give my only child the best education made me to engage in drug trafficking. This is my first time and I was scared of death.

“I reported myself when I was feeling acute pains in my stomach.”