Operatives of Nigeria’s Anti-narcotic Agency, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in Kogi state, North-Central Nigeria, intercepted a J5 vehicle with 18 pieces of pump action rifles and one thousand three hundred (1,300) cartridges.
The operatives on patrol made the arrests along Okene-Abuja expressway on Saturday, 17th September, while the two suspects conveying the arms and ammunition, Chukwudi Aronu, 51, and Shuaibu Gambo, 23, were also arrested.
Another suspect, Anthony Agada, 37, conveying one thousand (1,000) cartridges, was equally nabbed in a bus coming from Onitsha to Abuja same day.
In another development, NDLEA operatives, have arrested an ex-convict, Onyeka Charles Madukolu at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, for importing 5.90 kilograms of cocaine.
The drugs were concealed in cans of deodorants and ladies’ lip gloss into Nigeria.
A press statement by the agency’s spokesperson Mr Femi Babafemi said: “Onyeka, who was sentenced to seven years in prison in Ethiopia for drug trafficking offences and released from prison in 2020, was again arrested on Friday, 16th September, 2022, at the Lagos airport on his return from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.”
In the statement, it says a search of his luggage revealed he had concealed 5.90kg cocaine inside cans of deodorants and female lip gloss.
The 44-year-old indigene of Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State Southern Nigeria said, he was expecting to be paid N2million on successful delivery of the illicit drug in Nigeria.
In the same vein, NDLEA operatives had on Tuesday, 13th September, intercepted another trafficker, Chukwu Kingsley on his way to Rome, Italy, on an Asky Airline flight.
“A search of his luggage, showed he had concealed among food condiments, 11,460 tablets of tramadol 225mg with a gross weight of 5.7kg and 39 bottles of codeine syrup.”
The 49-year-old suspect is a known haulage agent who hails from Oru West Local Government Area of Imo State Southern Nigeria.
Also at the Lagos airport, “a freight agent, Lawal Adeyemi was arrested for attempting to export some sachets of lexotan, among other non-controlled drugs to Liberia, while operatives equally seized 593.90 kilograms of khat leaf at the NAHCO import shed of the airport on Thursday, 15th September after a joint examination of the cargo by a combined team of security agencies,” as contained in the statement.
Meanwhile, a notable producer of new psychoactive substance, popularly called Akuskura, Qasim Ademola, has been arrested by anti-narcotic officers who intercepted 26, 600 bottles of the illicit substance meant for distribution across Northern states.
“The consignment was seized on Thursday, 15th September along Zaria-Kano road, Gadar Tamburawa, Kano, while the 39-year-old proprietor from Akinyele LGA, Oyo state, and three of his distributors were arrested in follow up operations.”
Meanwhile, 1,404 bottles of codeine syrup and 2,040 ampoules of pentazocine injection were seized from another vehicle coming from Onitsha enroute Sokoto, with the receiver, Stanley Raymond, 39, and the sender, Shadrack Ifediora, 46, arrested in follow up operations in Sokoto and Anambra, respectively.
In Kaduna Northern Nigeria, a drug dealer, Mohammed Mustapha Dalhatu a.k.a Dawa, was arrested at Sabon Gari Zaria, with eight bags of cannabis sativa weighing 67kg, and another, Maikudi Hassan, arrested at Gubuci village of Ikara LGA with five bags of cannabis weighing 54.2kg.
Also, on Thursday, 15th September, operatives also arrested Mary Ugwu and Hawwa Idi, at Anchau town, Kubau LGA, with 721 ampoules of pentazocine injection; 37,000 tablets of exol-5 and nine ampoules of diazepam injection as well as 6.8kg of rubber solution.
In Edo state Southern Nigeria, operatives recovered 285kg cannabis in two raids at Okpuje, Owan West LGA, on Friday, 16th Septenber, while in Lagos, 972.5kg of the same substance was recovered from an electronic shop at Alaba Int’l market and one of the suspects, Mrs. Ebere Aja, 38, arrested.
Also, 335.1kg of cannabis was also seized in a raid at Kwanar Kundum area of Bauchi town Northern Nigeria, with two suspects: Usman Garba and Najib Ibrahim, arrested.
Reacting on the seizures, the Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) directed the Kogi state command of the agency to immediately hand over the arms and ammunition seized to the police for further investigation.
He commended the officers and men of the command as well as their counterparts in the affected commands for their vigilance and resilience, urging them to remain focussed in the discharge of their responsibilities.
