Nigeria grounds 'cocaine plane'

Nigerian police have grounded a Virgin Atlantic flight after a crew member was caught with cocaine in his luggage.

The plane was due to take off for London Heathrow from Lagos airport when anti-drug agents found 1.7 kg of cocaine concealed in the crewman's bag.

"A member of [the] cabin crew who was due to operate flight VS652 has been detained by the Nigerian authorities," the UK airline said in a statement.

Officials say the arrested crewman has made a confession admitting the crime.

Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has issued a statement which quoted the attendant as saying he was offered $4,000 by a London-based Nigerian to deliver the parcel.

Although Nigeria does not produce any hard drugs, its porous borders and a weak law enforcement system have made it a major transit point for drugs from Latin America to Europe.

In January, a popular Nigerian film actress was fined $7,800 by a court in Lagos for trying to smuggle 1.2 kg of cocaine to Britain.

Nigeria made its biggest drug haul in April when the NDLEA arrested a trafficker trying to smuggle 62.4 kg of heroin to the Middle East.