Desperate attempts by members of Drug Trafficking
Organisations (DTOs) to move consignments of illicit substances especially
methamphetamine and opioids concealed in walls of carton, winter jackets and
body cream containers to countries in Europe have been foiled by operatives of
the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport, Ikeja and a courier firm in Lagos.
Two of the consignments heading to Italy were to be
moved through the Lagos airport where two suspects linked to the shipments were
promptly arrested. One of them, 37-year-old Friday Ehianuka was going to Rome,
Italy on Friday 20th March 2026 when he was intercepted while attempting to
board an Ethiopian Airlines flight with 2,698 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed
in containers of skin light body cream, all packed in the suspect’s luggage.
In his statement, Ehianuka who is a resident of Milan,
confirmed that he was to be paid a negotiated fee in Euros if he had succeeded
in trafficking the consignment to Italy.
In another drug bust, NDLEA operatives at the
departure hall of the Lagos airport on Wednesday 18th March intercepted a
passenger Christian Agbonhese, who was attempting to board a Lufthansa Airlines
flight to Milan, Italy. Upon a thorough search of his luggage, no fewer than
23,150 pills of tramadol 225mg; 4,000 tablets of tapentadol 250mg and 1,320
pills of tramadol 100mg, all concealed in two large winter jackets, bringing
the total number of opioids recovered from him to 28,470 pills. The 38-year-old
Agbonhese is also a resident of Milan.
At a courier firm in Lagos, NDLEA officers on Monday
16th March intercepted two parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis
weighing 1kg, hidden in a carton shipped to Lagos from the United States. Also
thwarted was an attempt to export 158 grams of methamphetamine concealed in the
walls of a carton to New Zealand.
In Kano, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 18th March
arrested a suspect Abdulkadir Mamuda, 35, with 102.5kg skunk at Dan-Tsalle,
while another suspect Uche Johnson Festus, 47, was nabbed same day at Naibawa
Gabas, with 95.5kg of same psychoactive substance.
Not less than 21, 737 bottles of codeine-based syrup
were recovered from a store at Otto, Ijora area of Lagos when NDLEA operatives
raided the area on Wednesday 18th March, while two suspects: Chidiebere
Anigbogu and Paul Nwagbara were arrested same day on 3rd mainland bridge,
conveying 8,380 bottles of same substance.
While 97.5kg skunk was recovered from the home of a
suspect Akeem Idde, 37, in Ojah, Akoko-Edo LGA, Edo State, on Monday 16th
March, NDLEA operatives in Abuja on Wednesday 18th March intercepted a
commercial bus along Gwagwalada expressway in the FCT. A thorough search of the
vehicle led to the recovery of 91,840 pills of tramadol hidden in its body
compartments. The bus driver, Aminu Ali, 27, was promptly taken into custody.
In Oyo state, a suspect, Bankole Bari, was on Tuesday
17th March arrested at Oke-Oyan, Ibarapa LGA, with 71.2kg skunk, which he
smuggled into Nigeria from Benin Republic through the Oyan river.
Not less than 586,000 pills of tramadol and exol-5
were recovered by NDLEA operatives from Lawal Anas, 28, along Kaduna-Zaria
highway, Kaduna on Tuesday 17th March, while 7,290 tablets of tramadol 225mg
were seized from Musa Shuaibu, 22, at same location on Friday 20th March.
Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives in Taraba state on Tuesday
17th March intercepted a suspect Aliyu Adamu, 26, along Takum-Jalingo highway
while conveying 77,660 capsules of tramadol to Gombe.
In Adamawa state, no fewer than six suspects were
arrested in connection with the seizure of 82.8kg tramadol in a truck in Yola
on Tuesday 17th March. Suspects who are joint owners of the consignment
include: Ramatu Aliyu; Jungudo Abdullahi; Najid Abdullahi; Musa Mohammed; Usman
Abdulrahim and Musa Mohammed. They were all arrested in swift follow-up
operations.
In like manner, Commands and formations of the Agency
across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization
activities in schools, worship centres, work places and communities in the past
week. These include: WADA sensitization lecture to students and staff of Girls
High School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi; New State High School, Mushin, Lagos;
Cornerstone Secondary School, Sankwala, Cross River; Community Secondary
School, Ngwo-Uno, Udi, Enugu and St. John’s Academy, Ipokia LGA, Ogun state, among
others.
While commending the officers and men of the MMIA,
DOGI, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Oyo, FCT, Taraba, and Adamawa Commands for the
arrests, and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen.
Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) enjoined them and their colleagues across the country
to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of
the Agency
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