A mild drama ensued on January 16, 2024, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, when an unnamed traveller accosted an airport worker for allegedly planting an illegal substance on him.
The viral video which captured the employee being manhandled by the passenger who was billed to fly to Accra, Ghana, was first posted on Thursday, January 18, on X commentary page christened Sabi Radio.
The traveller alleged that one of the employees, identified as Ugochukwu, attempted to use him to smuggle what he believed to be illicit drugs hidden in a parcel.
The flyer, it was gathered, was approached by Ugochukwu at the airport and asked him to deliver a parcel which he claimed was a medication to an individual at his destination.
A caption attached to the 16-second video that has gone viral, read; “That’s how a stupid FAAN staff (sic) tried to set us up to smuggle drugs, today. A whole (sic) Port Harcourt boy.”
The passenger, in an X post accompanying the video, said that if he had not raised the alarm and rattled the airport, his picture would have been posted everywhere by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency accusing him of being a drug trafficker.
“Either (sic) it is their usual operation to set people up but they know they jammed (sic) their match today. As I begin razz the whole airport, them know say person dey.
“That’s how my life would have gone like that. Una for see my picture for everywhere for NDLEA says I smuggle drug for an international airport.
“Innocent people are jailed daily through this method but they jam (sic) their match today. The NDLEA personnel were not acting shocked. Y’all (sic) need to be careful at these airports,” he wrote, in a post interspersed with Pidgin English.
In the video, Ugochukwu could be seen kneeling before the miffed passenger and trying to explain himself to two other onlookers.
“I didn’t even open the drug; I just saw this man and told him to please help me,” he was heard saying as the angry air passenger charged at him.
“Tell me the f***ing content of this drug,” the traveller interrupted, slapping Ugochukwu across the face.
However, some nitizens reacted to the video, saying: “Some said that such an action could have led to the false accusation of drug trafficking against numerous innocent persons while other netizens argued that it was not a case of drug smuggling since the airport screening machine had cleared the passenger’s luggage.
Another, a travel agent, Lucky Ehiorobo, claimed that a false narrative had been added to the story.
“This happened since Tuesday. He [airport worker] didn’t put the medicine (sic) in the pocket of the passenger, please. The staff (sic) asked the man to help him carry some vitamin supplements to Accra and give them to someone there. The passenger agreed and collected the package.
“The so-called drugs passed through the screening machine and checkpoints all cleared it. It was when the man was boarding and he had the fear of not knowing the content of the medicine (sic) that he started acting up. It was not drug smuggling, please be guided”.
…How to prevent smugglers from planting hard drugs in your luggage
What happens if, after checking in your luggage at the airport, someone plants drugs in it?
If you are caught, you will be arrested and charged for smuggling.
So:
• Lock your bag – with a TSA approved lock.
• Stuff your bag full so that it cannot have any space for additional item(s).
• Wrap your bag with a supplementary strap – which is great for ID and makes it much harder to get into.
• Get your bag wrapped in film at the airport. Most airports have baggage wrapping service. Then take a picture of it on your phone. If it is tampered with when it arrives at your destination, immediately inform local customs and show them the picture of how you wrapped it at checked-in.