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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Cocaine smuggling Nigerian pol arrested at Lagos airport |
| 2010-05-18 |
| A Nigerian politician has been arrested on suspicion of smuggling cocaine at Lagos airport. Nigerian drug enforcement officials say Eme Zuru Ayortor swallowed nearly two kilograms of cocaine (4.4 lbs) in order to fund his election campaign. Police say body scanners revealed the contents of his stomach as he attempted to board a flight to Frankfurt. Mr Ayortor, aged 52, is running in the election to the local House of Assembly in Edo state. Officers from Nigeria's drug law enforcement agency say they recovered 100 parcels of cocaine from the politician's stomack at Lagos' Murtala Mohammed International Airport. It is understood that Mr Ayortor told officers he needed the money - because his last election campaign, in 2007, bankrupted him. Politicians in Nigeria raise large amounts of money at election time: much of it goes on bribing election officials and paying gangs of young men to intimidate voters. Last month, customs officers at the same airport seized a consignment of military uniforms which they linked to politicians preparing for elections next year. Nigeria is a major transit route for drugs - from South America and Asia - to the US and Europe. More than 300 tonnes of narcotics were seized in the country last year. |
| Posted by:lotp |
| #2 Greetings good friend: I am Mrs. Eme Zuru Ayortor, wife of Eme Zuru Ayortor, a member of the House of Assembly in Edo state, Nigeria. I have on deposit ONE HUNDRED MILLION USD ($100,000,000) with a reputable and honest security company in Moncton, New Brunswick which I would like to invest in your country.... |
| Posted by: Mike 2010-05-18 06:42 |
| #1 Keep him locked up until either the Coke passes, or the rubber breaks. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2010-05-18 04:28 |