Drug Trafficking: Onitsha Traders decried death of crippled Member

                                                 
The shocking news of the alleged involvement and subsequent death of a trader with the Millennium Merchant and Importers Association, Sokoto Road, Onitsha, who was discovered to have died as a result of an expired quantity of cocaine which was stocked in his bowels in a bid to escape detection by security agents in far away, Coted’ Ivoire has become a nightmare to the entire traders of the area where the victim, one Ifechukwu, a cripple, popularly known as “ngworo”.
The deceased, who hailed from Ukpor, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State was said to be married with two  children and was described as a gentle and easygoing man whose outward look and behaviour betrayed his inner character.
He was usually sighted either in his shop discussing business deals with friends on the latest fabrics to be imported from China or in front of his shop at Millennium Merchant Market, Sokoto Road ,scouting for potential customers.
Hardly could anyone believe that the disabled, who could not walk on his two legs except with the support of the wheel chair, could engage in the business of exporting prohibited drugs which has now attracted international attention.
The victim was said to have enjoyed enormous social support and privileges from fellow traders because of his physical condition.
However, when the news of cause of the death of the trader who engaged in the business of importation of fabric materials from China was made public, the entire market was hit with a wave of shock.
The chairman, Millennium Merchant and Importers Association, Sokoto Road, Onitsha, Chief Valentine Ezechukwu and Secretary, Ikenna Igboamaeze, expressed shock at the news of the cause and sudden death of a registered member of the union.
The duo, however, stated that the discovery that one of their members died as a result of hard drug which he was attempting to smuggle into a foreign land by road does not mean that all the traders in the area were involved in drug trafficking.
According to Chief Ezechukwu, “we deal on fabrics mainly imported from China likewise our departed colleague. That he was caught in the act does not justify that all the traders here are all drug traffickers”, he stated.
“We’re law abiding citizens who import and sell fabrics. Even ‘ngworo’ as the deceased was usually called was a hardworking trader, but we didn’t know he was allegedly involved in the trafficking of hard drugs. How would we know? All that I knew about him is that he was a gentle and hardworking trader.
The Secretary of the union, Ikenna Igboamaeze, in his view said that the victim was a man who enjoyed some privileges from the market executives because of his physical condition.
The two market leaders, however, regretted the alleged action of their departed colleague which they admitted has portrayed the traders in a bad image and advised other traders in the market not to engage themselves in any business that may further tarnish the good image of the market union.