Arrested drug suspects
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded one of its biggest nationwide anti-drug operations, intercepting illicit drugs worth over N3.4 billion and arresting several suspects, including a man who allegedly posed as a senior police officer to transport drugs across the country.
The NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement issued to newsmen on Sunday.
Mr. Babafemi said the operations, carried out in Lagos, Edo, Delta, Niger, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Gombe, Imo and Ondo states, led to the seizure of more than 1.3 million pills of tramadol and other opioids, as well as over 6,000 kilograms of cannabis.
According to him, a major breakthrough came with the interception of 603.75 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, at the Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos. He said the consignment, valued at N1.81 billion, was concealed inside two Toyota Sienna vehicles loaded into a 40-foot container shipped from Montreal, Canada.
The agency said the container, which arrived on September 12, was placed under surveillance before a joint examination with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies uncovered 1,200 parcels of the illicit substance.
In another operation, he said the NDLEA operatives arrested 49-year-old Innocent Ekpe along the Benin-Onitsha Expressway in Asaba, Delta State, with 292.48 kilograms of skunk hidden inside a Toyota Sienna bus.
Investigations according to Mr. Babafemi, showed that Ekpe allegedly posed as a Deputy Superintendent of Police under the name Godwin Emeka, using a forged police identity card to avoid security checks while transporting illegal drugs. His alleged accomplice, Nduka Joseph, was also arrested.
He said in Edo State, operatives raided an auto mechanic workshop on Agbor Road in Benin City, where Matthew Ossai, 45, was arrested. Officers recovered 48 kilograms of Canadian Loud, 152 grams of methamphetamine, and a metal storage box allegedly used to conceal the drugs.
NDLEA also intercepted a massive consignment of opioids along the Abaji-Abuja highway, where two suspects, Aminu Isyaku and Jamilu Habibu, were arrested while transporting more than 1.1 million tramadol tablets and capsules, codeine syrup, methamphetamine and Exol tablets from Onitsha to Mararaba.
In Lagos, officers arrested Onyeka Ofor with 48,900 tramadol tablets at his residence in Surulere, while 59 kilograms of cannabis concealed in seven cartons were intercepted at a logistics company, leading to the arrest of Luke Ugokwe.
Another suspect, Ibrahim Hudu, was arrested at Apongbo with 998.38 kilograms of nitrous oxide gas, popularly known as laughing gas, which is increasingly being abused as an intoxicant.
The NDLEA spokesman said the operations reflect its intensified efforts to disrupt drug trafficking networks across the country.
While commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced strategy against drug trafficking and abuse.
The agency has intensified intelligence-led operations in recent months as part of its nationwide campaign to reduce the supply of illicit drugs and discourage substance abuse, especially among young people.
