A crew member of Arik
Air, Mr.Chika Egwu Udensi, was on Monday
night apprehended at Heathrow Airport, London, for allegedly peddling substances,
suspected to be cocaine.
Spokesman of Arik Air,
Mr. Ola Adebanji, confirmed the latest arrest. He said the crew member was
arrested by the UK Border Force in connection with alleged possession of items
suspected to be banned substances.
Adebanji, in a statement,
stated that the airline was presently carrying out its own investigation to
determine how the cabin crew member came about the suspected banned substance.
He stressed that the airline would also be cooperating fully with the UK
authorities and other appropriate agencies in their investigations.
The statement said: “The
airline again reaffirms its commitment 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. The
airline 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.”
The arrest came barely
two years after two crew members of the same airline were arrested, also in
London, for the same offence.
The suspect was arrested
with 2.7 kilogramme of the banned substance. The aircraft had departed the Murtala
Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, for a flight to London.
In December 2011, a 29 years old Arik Air
cabin crew, Ms. Chiwendu Uwkaoyenma, was arrested in London for drug
trafficking. She was jailed for five years in 2012.
Also, in 2013, two staff
of the airline were arrested at the Heathrow Airport for suspected drug
trafficking.
Meanwhile, NDLEA, has
threatened to sanction Arik Air over the arrest of its crew member in Heathrow,
London over trafficking of cocaine into the country. This is as the agency said
that investigation had commenced immediately into the operations of the
airline.
Media statement by the spokesman of the
agency, Mr. Mitchell Odoyeju stated that the Chief Executive Officer, CEO,
NDLEA, Alhaji Ahmadu Giade, gave the order following the seizure of 20kg
substances that tested positive for cocaine.
Ofoyeju gave the name of
the suspect as Chika Egwu Udensi, an air steward with the airline. Ofoyeju said
that the agency was notified of the arrest by the National Crime Agency, NCA,
of the United Kingdom.
The statement added, “The
agency will carry out full scale investigation into this case to ascertain
those behind the criminal act. We shall work closely with our international
collaborators on the matter. Arik Airline will be sanctioned if found wanting.
“The agency shall invoke
section 25 of the NDLEA Act against the airline, which states that it shall be
the duty of every commercial carrier to take reasonable precaution to ensure
that its means of transport are not used in the commission of offences under
this Act.
“Every commercial carrier
is to comply with appropriate security measures at points of entry and exit in
the Federal Republic of Nigeria and other customs control areas, to prevent
unauthorised cargo in its means of transportation.”
He emphasized that the law refers to the
precautionary measures to include training of personnel, promotion of integrity
of their personnel, submission of cargo manifests in advance, use of
tamper-resistant, individually verifiable seals on containers and reporting to
the Agency at the earliest opportunity all suspicious circumstances relating to
drug trafficking.
He maintained that
Nigeria had a cordial working relationship with the United Kingdom in drug
control, which he said had resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of
arrests made in the United Kingdom from flights originating from Nigeria over
the years. Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in a statement at the
time, had disclosed that it was investigating the allegation, which it
described as a national embarrassment.
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