Nigeria’s Anti-narcotic Agency, the National Drugs Laws Enforcement agency NDLEA has declared an Abuja-based drug lord, Ibrahim Momoh, also called Ibrahim Bendel wanted.
This came after operatives of the agency stormed the warehouse of the notorious drug lord who is also an ex-convict and recovered 81 jumbo bags of cannabis weighing 1,278kgs.
Bendel who escaped from prison custody and returned to his criminal trade was first arrested on 27th November 2014, with the same substance weighing 385.1kgs, prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.
The NDLEA’S spokesperson, Mr Femi BabaFemi in a statement disclosed that; “The fleeing drug dealer is still at large and is wanted by the Agency, his warehouse keeper, 55-year-old Ghanaian, Richard Forson Gordon was arrested.”
Meanwhile, the NDLEA has arrested a 60-year-old grandmother and a pregnant woman during interdiction operations in which 5,527.15 kilograms of methamphetamine and cannabis Sativa were recovered.
The grandma, Mrs. Ibinosun Sandra Esther was arrested in Ibadan, Oyo state in a follow-up operation following the seizure of 5.5kg Loud variant of cannabis imported into the country from South Africa.
BabaFemi said Dozens of tablets of tramadol, bottles of codeine were also recovered by NDLEA operatives across five states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in the past week.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives also on Saturday 26th November intercepted 1.4 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed inside custard tins packed among cosmetics and foodstuffs going to Brazil via Doha on a Qatar Airways flight.
BabaFemi said, “A cargo agent, Salako Omolara Fausat who brought the bag containing the illicit drug to the airport and an intending passenger to Brazil, Anyanwu Christian who was to travel with the consignment were promptly arrested.”
Also, another attempt by a freight agent, Adebisi Aina Hafsat to export 3,000 tablets of tramadol concealed in motor spare parts to Banjul, Gambia through the NAHCO export shed was equally thwarted by operatives who seized the consignment and arrested her on Monday 28th November.
Meanwhile, in Rivers state, operatives on Saturday 3rd December arrested a 29-year-old pregnant woman, Kate Ibinabo with 34.4kgs cannabis sativa in Okrika area of the state.
The Chief Executive of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa has however directed that the woman be granted administrative bail pending when she delivered of her baby before prosecution.
Also, in Cross River, 53 jumbo bags of illicit substances weighing 567.05kgs were seized from three suspects.
The NDLEA spokesperson also revealed that the operatives equally arrested another suspect, Ali Mohammed along Potiskum- Damaturu road after they found 29,090 tablets of tramadol in his personal Honda car marked ABC 914 RW coming from Gombe to Damaturu, Yobe state.
“In Ondo state, 241 bags of the psychoactive substance with a gross weight of 3,133kg were recovered from a building at Ilale Cashew, Ehinogbe, Owo, on Tuesday 29th November. At least, 507.9kgs of cannabis were also seized during a raid at the hideout of a fleeing drug dealer in Mushin area of Lagos on Thursday 1st December.“
While commending the officers and men of the affected commands for the arrests and seizures, the agency’s boss, Marwa charged them and their counterparts across other formations to continue to step up their offensives against drug cartels.
PIAK
