“I am not a criminal, I just want to survive”, says 51-year-old Grandmother Nabbed with 180g of Heroin

The Suspect, Monsurat Akinyemi

A 51-year-old grandmother, Monsurat Akinyemi, has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos for being in possession of 180 grammes of heroin, PUNCH reports.

Akinyemi, an Ogun State indigene was apprehended after four parcels of the drug was found in her luggage. Officials discovered the drug during an inward screening of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Entebbe, Uganda.

A statement by NDLEA spokesperson, Mitchell Ofoyeju, disclosed that the agency’s commander at the airport, Ahmadu Garba, said the suspect traveled to Uganda for one week and hid the drugs in her luggage on the way back.

Speaking to investigators, Akinyemi said:

I used to buy female clothes from India for sale. However, due to family problems and the economic situation, my business started to die.

I wanted to expand my business. I was introduced to drug trafficking by a friend who invited me to Uganda. I invested my $3,000 (about N1.2 million using black market rate) in the deal and expected that I would get $6,000 from it.

I am sad that things did not go as planned. I am not a criminal. I just want to survive. When the drug was discovered at the airport, I felt as if it was all over for me.

Photo Credit: PUNCH