The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered a bizarre network of drug traffickers who allegedly hid illicit drugs in loaves of bread, music speakers and consolidated cargoes from the United Kingdom, as operatives seized more than 2.3 tonnes of assorted drugs in raids across eight states.
The operations also led to the arrest of a real estate agent, a 70-year-old woman and several other suspects in Lagos, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Kaduna, Plateau, Bayelsa and Kano.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted 27 parcels of Colorado, popularly known as Colos, weighing 32.20kg in a consolidated cargo from the UK.
A real estate agent, Abideen Jide Salami, was arrested on Wednesday, September 9, after allegedly arriving at the airport to collect a luggage containing the drug with a secret collection code reportedly sent to him by his brother in the UK.
In another UK-linked operation, operatives arrested 44-year-old Nurudeen Abiodun Kadiri after intercepting 12.25kg of Colorado allegedly sent to him by his brother based in the UK.
The agency also busted attempts to move Colorado through Lagos motor parks.
At Maza Maza Motor Park, operatives discovered three packs of Colorado concealed inside a music speaker. The consignment was reportedly destined for Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and ultimately Liberia.
A tour agent, Ifeanyi Obed Augustine, 41, and the alleged owner of the consignment, Obasi Ugochuckwu, 46, were arrested during a sting operation at a nearby eatery.
At Iddo Motor Park, another suspect, Ifeanyi Nwokolo Henry, was arrested on Friday while allegedly attempting to dispatch 2.1kg of Colorado to Kano.
785,000 pregabalin capsules seized
In Kano, the scale of the operation grew dramatically when NDLEA operatives raided Sabon Gari and arrested 20-year-old Saidu Adamu with 785,000 capsules of pregabalin weighing 669.425kg.
Another unusual discovery was made along the Zaria–Kano–Hadejia Road, where 1,700 tablets of diazepam were allegedly concealed inside loaves of bread. The drugs were seized from 28-year-old Habibu Sabitu.
At Katako Market in Jos, Plateau State, 51-year-old Chinedu Uzor was arrested with 157,100 capsules of tramadol.
In Delta State, operatives recovered pentazocine injections, codeine syrup, tramadol, diazepam, flunitrazepam and MDMA, with some of the drugs allegedly hidden inside music speakers.
Two suspects, Emeka Oji and Chukwuebuka Anedi, were arrested.
Cannabis haul hits hundreds of kilogrammes
The NDLEA also intensified its offensive against cannabis cultivation and trafficking.
In Edo State, operatives destroyed 4,832.56kg of skunk cannabis on farms in Usen, Igwe-Oke and Ogboha forests, arresting 39-year-old Sunday Segun.
In Ondo State, 186kg of skunk was recovered from the boot of a Toyota Avalon during a raid on a residence along Oke-Iya, Ijoka Road, Akure.
The suspect, 58-year-old Paul Ogbuwala, was allegedly preparing to move the consignment to Jos for onward distribution.
In Kaduna, operatives arrested Hannah Michael with 369.6kg of cannabis at Gonin Gora.
At Ovom, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, four suspects, including 70-year-old Godwoman Gboriye, were arrested with 110 bags of cannabis weighing 876kg.
The other suspects were Motombo Silver, 44; Pere Andrew, 39; and Keme Andrew, 43.
The latest operations came alongside the agency’s continued War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns in schools, communities, workplaces and religious centres.
Commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged them to sustain the pressure on drug cartels and shut down their supply routes.
Marwa said the agency must continue targeting trafficking pipelines through airports, seaports, land borders and cannabis cultivation areas across the country.
