By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted multiple drug consignments and arrested 15 suspects in a series of operations across Lagos, Kaduna, Cross River, Edo and Delta states.
In a statement signed on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, he said, “At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, NDLEA officers at the export shed seized 12 large parcels of cocaine weighing 2.80 kilograms on Thursday, April 9. The drugs were concealed in the false bottom of food flasks bound for the United Kingdom on a Virgin Atlantic flight. Two cargo agents, Ama Obinna Ufeim, 33, and Ogabi Monday Akorede, 39, were arrested at the scene. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of Agoro Tajudeen Moninuola, 52, identified as the sender.
“In a separate operation at the airport’s import shed on Wednesday, April 8, officers intercepted 2.90 kilograms of “Loud,” a strong strain of cannabis, hidden in snack food packs. The consignment arrived from the United States aboard a Delta Airlines flight. Cargo clearing agents Animashaun Moshood Adetunji and Mercy Gabriel Oluwasegun were initially arrested. The consignee, Saheed Adeshina Adegoke, 29, a fashion designer, was later arrested on Monday, April 13, at 3 Oba Ogunji Road, Ogba, Lagos.
Along the Kaduna–Zaria highway, NDLEA patrol teams stopped a cement truck heading to Hadeja, Jigawa State, on Monday, April 13. A search uncovered 760 blocks and 33 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 847 kilograms. The driver, Umar Garba Haruna, 33, was taken into custody.
In Cross River State, officers supported by soldiers raided a forest in Uwet community, Akamkpa Local Government Area, on Thursday, April 16. About 15,000 kilograms of skunk cultivated on six hectares of farmland were destroyed, while 119kg was recovered. A 53-year-old suspect, Alice Sunday Udoh, was arrested.
Another cannabis farm was raided on Tuesday, April 14, at Saboro camp, Ovia North East LGA, Edo State, where 2,281.43kg of the substance was destroyed. Three suspects were arrested: Nweke Smart, 27; Christopher Egbe, 62; and Monday Ayan, 45. Egbe and Ayan were caught with 38.5kg of cannabis and seeds.
In Delta State, Sunday Odili, 49, and Ijenebe Joshua, 39, were arrested on Friday, April 17, at Powerline area of Okwo with 87.838kg of skunk and seeds.
In Lagos, two suspects, Chinedu Ogbekene and Zindozin Aloukou Bienvenu, were arrested on Wednesday, April 15, at Mile 2 along the Lagos/Badagry Expressway while transporting 11,900 capsules of tramadol and 400 ampoules of phenobarbital injection in a truck bound for Ghana. On the same day, officers raided a two-storey building at Petti, Lagos Island, and recovered 95.8kg of skunk.
The agency said its Commands also carried out War Against Drug Abuse sensitization lectures last week in schools across Niger, Cross River, Kogi, Katsina, Kano and Lagos states.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers of the MMIA, Edo, Delta, Cross River, Kaduna and Lagos Commands for the arrests and seizures. He urged them to sustain the tempo of drug supply reduction alongside WADA advocacy activities.
