The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted 24 parcels of cocaine in Rivers State.
They were concealed in 12 tyres of lawn mowers imported through the Port Harcourt International Airport.
The suspect is a Brazilian returnee, Okechukwu Francis Amaechi who recently finished a jail term for drug trafficking in the South American country.
A statement on Sunday by NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi said the 45-year-old ex-convict hails from Idemili South LGA, Anambra State.
He was arrested at the Port Harcourt Airport upon arrival from Brazil via Doha onboard Qatar Airline flight QR1433.
Okechukwu completed his prison sentence for drug offences in March 2022. The drugs he brought in weighed 4.56kg.
Babafemi said the two parcels in one of the tyres of the first lawn mower bear “O LORD” and “HAVE MERCY”.
The parcels in one of the tyres of the second mower bear the inscription “IN GOD” and “WE TRUST”, while others has “IJIOMA” and “186.6” inscribed on the them.
The suspect claimed that one of his church members gave him the lawn mowers to deliver to his brother in Port Harcourt.
In Zamfara, Kogi, Rivers, Kaduna and Kano, 37,876 tablets of pharmaceutical opioids especially Tramadol; 10,884 bottles of codeine and 825.016 kilograms of cannabis sativa, were recovered last week.
