The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has warned commercial drivers and transport workers against accepting parcels without knowing their contents.
The warning followed an incident involving a commercial bus driver who was nearly implicated in a drug trafficking case after accepting a bottle of Fearless energy drink as a waybill package in Lagos.
The package was meant to be delivered to Ondo State.
However, NDLEA operatives discovered that the bottle had been used to conceal Colos and methamphetamine.
Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, disclosed the incident in a Facebook post on Sunday.
Babafemi said the driver believed he was transporting an ordinary energy drink and was unaware that the bottle contained illicit drugs.
“When they say don’t judge a book by its cover, it’s for a reason. A commercial bus driver spent some time in custody and would have ended in jail because he assumed a bottle of fearless energy drink given him as a waybill package in Lagos to deliver in Ondo state actually contains energy drink. However, as this video reveals, the energy drink bottle was used to conceal Colos and Meth,” he wrote.
According to Babafemi, the driver was spared further legal trouble after NDLEA officers traced and arrested the person who handed him the package.
“He may be lucky to have escaped gaol because [NDLEA NIGERIA] officers who made the discovery were able to track and arrest the person who gave him the package, your own case may be devoid of such luck and you go in for it,” he said.
The NDLEA spokesman warned drivers and other members of the public that accepting parcels containing illicit drugs could expose them to criminal liability.
“As drivers or whoever, please avoid taking parcels you don’t know its content because possession makes you culpable, that’s the law and you go explain tire!” Babafemi added.
The agency urged transport workers to establish the contents of parcels before accepting them for delivery to avoid being held responsible for illegal substances found in their possession.
