•Illicit drugs seized in four states, 11 suspects arrested
Not less than 37.5 kilogrammes of illicit consignments were intercepted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in the past week, thereby thwarting attempts by elements of organised criminal groups to use various modes of concealment to import the substances into Nigeria.
The criminal groups had also intended to export same drugs to the United Kingdom, and United Arab Emirate through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja and Tincan seaport in Lagos before they were intercepted.
Eleven suspects were also arrested in interdiction operations which led to the seizure of almost four tonnes of skunk in Kaduna, Kano and Lagos states.
The Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, who made this known on Sunday, January 8, disclosed that at the Lagos airport, a freight agent, Ogunsina Damilare, was arrested on January 6 following a bid to export 1.5 kilogrammes of skunk hidden in foodstuffs to Dubai, UAE through the SAHCO export shed of the MMIA.
A similar attempt to ship 11.5kg of the same substance to the United Kingdom was frustrated when the consignment concealed in a giant wooden sculpture was intercepted by NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI) at a courier company in Lagos.
The sculpture was said to have come from Ghana, with London as its destination.
At the Tincan Port in Lagos, a shipment of 24.5 kilogrammes cannabis indica to Nigeria from Montreal, Canada was intercepted by operatives who rejected N8million bribe offered by the importer, Cedrick Maduweke, to NDLEA officers and secured the money in an account for the prosecution of the case.
Saying that the importer, was still at large, Babafemi revealed that one of his accomplices, Steve Isioma Adigwe, has been arrested.
“The consignment was hidden in a used Toyota Sienna vehicle that arrived the port along with three other cars in a container marked MSMU 5082733.
“A total of 3, 672 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa were recovered from two locations and five suspects arrested in Kaduna during separate raid operations.
“Arrested at a warehouse at Rido village on Wednesday 3rd January include: Edward Emmanuel, 28; and Miracle Madu, with 298 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 3,576kg,” Babafemi stated.
Investigations had revealed that the consignment was moved from a southern state to Kaduna in a petroleum product-bearing truck.
Also, two other suspects – Sunday Bassey, 29 and Jessica, (surname withheld) 14, – were nabbed with 96kg of same substance at Gonin Gora area of the state, while Sanusi Isah, 30, was arrested on Saturday 7th January at Giwa area with over 12,000 tablets of Tramadol 225mg and Diazepam.
In Kano, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, January 7, intercepted Kabiru Abdulhamid, 40, with 119 blocks of cannabis weighing 73kg at Semugu area, while a total of 28,400 tablets of tramadol and over 230kg of cannabis were seized in raid operations in Festac town and Lagos Island areas of Lagos state.
Some of the suspects arrested in the Lagos raids included Rukayyat Eshinlokun, Pelumi Alejo and Banna Maina who specialized in distribution of illicit drugs, disguising as a dispatch rider.
In Imo State, a suspect, Amechi Moses, was arrested in a follow-up operation on Friday January 6, following the interception of 29,800 tablets of Tramadol 225mg in a commercial bus along Owerri-Onitsha road going to Aba in Abia State.
The Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), who commended the NDLEA officers and men for the arrests and seizures,charged them and their compatriots across the country to intensify the heat on drug cartels in Nigeria while balancing their efforts on supply reduction with drug demand reduction activities.
