Airport official arrested over attempt to smuggle drug onboard flight

An official of Partfinder International Limited, an aviation security company, has been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, over an attempt to dispatch suspected illicit drug through a departing Ibom Air flight to Accra, Ghana.

Obiageli Orah, the Director Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) made the disclosure in a statement in Lagos.

Orah explained that the employee was said to have approached a passenger to help him convey a parcel through the flight, but, the passenger became sceptical and raised the alarm, alleging that he was being set up for drug trafficking.

“The attention of the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), has been drawn to a video circulating on social media where a supposed staff of the Authority was knelt down and was being slapped by a passenger for trying to use him to traffic drug.

“It has been identified that the incident took place at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at about 1430 hours at gate 2 boarding gate at ITZ2.

“The Authority wishes to set the records straight by stating that the officer being manhandled in the video is not a staff of FAAN. He has been identified as a member of the staff of Pathfinder company.

“The employee was said to have approached a passenger to help him convey a parcel through the flight. When the passenger became sceptical, he raised an alarm, alleging that he was being set up for drug trafficking,” she said.

FAAN spokesperson, however, disclosed that the passenger involved was further questioned before he was allowed to board his flight to Ghana.

“The employee was immediately arrested for questioning by the Crime Investigation and Intelligence Unit of the Aviation Security Services.

“The passenger involved has since departed on Ibom Air to Accra while the medication with the name ‘NEW AGE GLUCOSAMINE CHONDROITIN SULFATE COMPLEX’ has been taken to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA) for further investigation.

“FAAN is dedicated to a drug-free society and has zero tolerance to drug peddling through her airports,” she Orah.