In interdiction operations that resulted in the seizure of nearly four tonnes of skunk in the states of Kaduna, Kano, and Lagos, agents of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have detained 11 individuals.
The agents also foiled attempts by members of organized crime groups to enter Nigeria with shipments of illegal substances and export those same shipments to the UK and United Arab Emirates via Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, and Tincan ports.
According to a statement from the agency’s spokeswoman, Femi Babafemi, 37.5 kg of such illegal consignments were seized in the previous week.
He claims that on January 6, a freight agent named Ogunsina Damilare was detained at the Lagos airport after attempting to ship 1.5 kilograms of skunk concealed inside of food to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through the MMIA’s Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) export shed.
He added that a similar attempt to export 11.5 kg of the same drug to the UK was foiled when NDLEA agents from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI) detained the shipment at a courier service in Lagos while it was camouflaged within a massive wooden sculpture. Curiously, the latter came from Ghana and was destined for London.
“At the Tincan port in Lagos, operatives seized a shipment of 24.5 kilograms of Cannabis indica bound for Nigeria from Montreal, Canada, while an N8 million bribe offered to NDLEA officials by the importer was secured in an account for the prosecution of the case, the source added.
“Steve Isioma Adigwe, one of the importer’s accomplices, has been detained while Cedrick Maduweke is still at large. The shipment was concealed inside a used Toyota Sienna that arrived at the port with three other vehicles in a container with the MSMU 5082733 marking”.
“Five people were taken into custody in Kaduna after separate raid operations, and a total of 3, 672 kilograms of Cannabis sativa were found at two different locations. arrested on January 10 at a warehouse in Rido village on Wednesday, January 3, including Edward Emmanuel, 28; and Miracle Madu, with 298 bags of Cannabis sativa weighing 3,576kgs”.
Investigations showed that a truck carrying petroleum products was used to transport the shipment from a southern state to Kaduna. Additionally, Sanusi Isah, 30, was detained on Saturday, January 7, in the Giwa area with more than 12,000 tablets of tramadol 225mg and Diazepam. Sunday Bassey, 29, and Jessica Daniel, 14, were also detained with 96 kg of the same substance.
“On January 7, NDLEA agents detained Kabiru Abdulhamid, 40, in Kano’s Semugu neighborhood with 119 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 73 kilograms, while raids in Lagos State’s Festac town and Lagos Island areas netted a total of 28,400 tramadol tablets and more than 230 kilograms of cannabis sativa.
“Rukayyat Eshinlokun, Pelumi Alejo, and Banna Maina, who specializes in drug trafficking while posing as a delivery rider, are some of the individuals detained in the Lagos searches.
Amechi Moses, a suspect in Imo State, was detained in a follow-up operation on Friday, January 6, as a result of the discovery of 29, 800 tramadols 225mg tablets in a commercial bus traveling from Owerri to Onitsha in Abia State.
Meanwhile, the officers and personnel of the Tincan, MMIA, DOGI, Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, and Imo Commands have been praised for the arrests and seizures by Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Retd), Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA.
He urged them and their fellow citizens to balance their efforts on supply reduction with drug demand reduction activities while stepping up the pressure on Nigeria’s drug traffickers.