Mbadugha, who was en route to Hanoi, Vietnam, via Doha on Qatar Airways flight QR 1432, was intercepted at the boarding gate on Monday, August 12, 2024. The suspect was placed under excretion observation for four days, during which he ingested 88 wraps of cocaine, weighing a total of 1.710 kilograms.

In his statement to the authorities, Mbadugha, who identifies as a Lagos-based businessman, confessed that he was given the cocaine pellets by a friend in the Isolo area of Lagos. He was to deliver the illicit drugs in Vietnam in exchange for a fee of $2,000.