The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted cannabis concealed in a gallon of palm oil at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, as a passenger prepared to travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The interception was among a series of nationwide operations in which the agency seized large consignments of illicit drugs, including 8,725 kilogrammes of powdered tramadol valued at over N6.98 billion at the Apapa Port in Lagos, and arrested several suspects, including an 85-year-old grandmother in Edo State.
In a statement by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, October 18, it was disclosed in that its operatives intercepted the female passenger, identified as Fatimah Ahmad, on Friday, October 16, during the outward clearance of an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
A search of the gallon of palm oil in her possession revealed parcels of cannabis weighing 511.75 grammes.
Ahmad reportedly told investigators that the gallon was given to her by her cousin, Abubakar Yahaya, who was subsequently arrested at the airport car park.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives, working jointly with the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies, uncovered 8,725 kilogrammes of powdered tramadol imported from India and declared as maize starch at the APM terminals in Apapa. Laboratory analysis confirmed the substance to be tramadol hydrochloride powder.
The consignment, separated from its concealment on Wednesday, October 14, comprised 349 bags with a street value estimated at over N6.98 billion.
In a separate operation at the Tin Can Island Port on Monday, October 12, operatives discovered 55 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud, valued at N165 million, concealed in brown cartons inside a Toyota Sienna vehicle shipped in a 40-foot container.
The agency also raided Idumota Market on October 14, arresting Elizabeth Chidera Kalu and recovering 10,600 ampoules of diazepam injection and 6,500 tablets of Molly from her store. Two men, Idowu Daudu and Ahmed Oniyinde, both 35, were arrested in Mushin the following day with 59.95kg and 61.23kg of cannabis, respectively.
Along Iyana Oba, NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck arriving from Trade Fair Market following intelligence reports. The truck’s loading manager, Tajudeen Adeduntan, and his assistant, Azeez Sikiru, were arrested after 18,000 tablets of tramadol 250mg were discovered in cartons labelled as Rambo insecticide.
In Edo State, six suspects were arrested during raids in Warake, Ivhiaro and Ewe/Irue communities in Owan East Local Government Area between October 15 and 16. They included 85-year-old Grace Ehimeka, who was allegedly found with 179kg of cannabis at Warake, and Ayo Aigberadion, 53, who was arrested with 220.8kg at Ewe/Irue.
Other suspects were Ali Garba, 57, allegedly found with 5.852kg of cannabis; Habib Braimoh, 45, with 100 grammes; Musa Mubid, 35, with 2kg of cannabis, cannabis seeds, tramadol, Swinol and diazepam; and Hope Okoro, 35, with 237 grammes of Loud.
In Ondo State, operatives raided a cannabis farm in Okemoro Isinbode Camp Forest on Saturday, October 17, destroying 7,500kg of cannabis cultivated on three hectares of land. Five suspects were arrested, while 92 bags of cannabis weighing 1,267kg, 11kg of cannabis seeds and 3kg of fresh stems were recovered.
In another operation in Owo, operatives tracked 53-year-old Okunebe Ndidi to his hideout in Ameyinti on Friday, October 16, where they recovered 25 bags of cannabis weighing 375kg.
In Bauchi State, operatives intercepted a Volkswagen Golf wagon driven by Shamsu Garba, 35, at Ragwam village in Katagum Local Government Area on October 14, recovering 894,800 pills of tramadol capsules and Exol-5 tablets.
On the same day, officers patrolling the Bauchi-Gombe Road recovered 291 blocks of cannabis weighing 265kg from an abandoned vehicle at Tudun Natsira village.
In Kano State, Ali Abdullahi, 38, and Ibrahim Adamu, 23, were arrested along the Zaria-Kano Road on October 13 with 30,100 tablets of tramadol 225mg. Another suspect, Murtala Dayyabu, 54, was arrested at Niger Street, Malan Kato, on October 14 with 100,000 tablets of Exol-5.
In Kaduna State, three suspects — Mohammed Sani, 48; Zaharadeen Shafiu, 29; and Yakubu Abdullahi, 20 — were arrested at Kayimi village with 496.5kg of cannabis. At Food Palace on Ali Akilu Road, another suspect, John Ayo David, 39, was arrested with 49,500 tablets of tramadol 225mg.
In Abuja, 42-year-old Odo Jonas Ejike was arrested in the Utako area on Saturday, October 17, with 29,500 tramadol capsules.
The NDLEA also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign during the week, reaching students and staff of schools in Oyo, Gombe, Lagos, Kogi, Cross River, Edo and Kano states, as well as the Rivers State College of Health Science and Management Technology in Port Harcourt.
The agency’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the Apapa, Tin Can, Kano airport, Lagos, Edo, Bauchi, Ondo, Kano, Kaduna and Federal Capital Territory commands for their professionalism and intelligence-led operations.
Marwa urged personnel nationwide to sustain the crackdown on drug trafficking networks while maintaining the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
