Two Arik Air Crewmembers Busted At London Heathrow With Cocaine Valued At $1m

SAN FRANCISCO, May 21, (THEWILL) – The British authorities have detained two cabin crewmembers of Arik Air over alleged drug trafficking into the United Kingdom.

The crewmembers were detained on Monday night after an Arik carrier touched down at the London Heathrow Airport on a scheduled flight from Lagos, Nigeria.

The crewmembers held are Temitayo Olubunmi Daramola with 6kg of cocaine, and Delita Abibimgbi with 60 packets of cigarettes stuffed with drugs.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in a statement said its Chairman, Mr. Ahmadu Giade has ordered a full-scale investigation on the incident.

“The Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ahmadu Giade has ordered the investigation of two crew members of Arik Air arrested at Heathrow Airport, London, in connection with drug trafficking.

“It was gathered that the crew members, Temitayo Olubunmi Daramola was found in possession of 6kg of cocaine while Delita Abibimgbi was found with 60 packets of cigarettes.”

Local media reports quoting a local drug enforcement agent put the street value of the cocaine now in the hands of the British police at $1 million USD.

The statement further said the Arik Air flight reportedly took off from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, on Monday, May 20, 2013, disclosing that eight out of 10 crewmembers that travelled with the flight have been cleared while two were still being held in London.

Arik also confirmed the arrest of two of its crewmembers in connection with the importation of “banned substances.”

In a statement the airline said it would fully cooperate with the British authorities.

The statement reads: “The attention of the management of Arik Air has been drawn to the detention in UK of two of its cabin crew members in connection with alleged possession of items suspected to be banned substances.

“Arik Air is cooperating fully with the UK authorities and all other concerned agencies in their investigations.

“Arik Air remains committed to the fight against drug and illicit substances trafficking and will not tolerate the use of any of its aircraft or crew for the courier of banned items and substances.

“Arik Air carries out very stringent checks on all members of staff and its travelling guests ahead of all flights. It will continue to focus its attention on measures to prevent the possibility of any future similar incidents.

“Arik Air is a responsible Nigerian company always seeking to maintain and uphold the integrity and proud reputation of the nation.”