PICTORIAL: NDLEA seizes 7.6 tons of illicit drugs, arrests 24 suspects across eight states
Additionally, a six-month-pregnant woman and three other women were among those arrested in Anambra, Abuja, Kano, Ondo, Edo, and Lagos.
These were made known in a statement by the agency’s Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday.
The statement read, “A total of 24 suspected drug traffickers and dealers including a 42-year-old man taking thousands of concealed opioid pills to insurgents’ enclave in Banki area of Borno State, a six-month-pregnant lady, a mother of three children and three other women have been arrested in major interdiction operations by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, leading to the seizure of over 7,609Kg of assorted illicit drugs in eight states.
“The bulk of the seizures was made in Nasarawa State where NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence on Sunday, February 4, intercepted a truck marked Lagos JJJ 64 YC conveying 367 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 4,037Kg from Akure, Ondo state to be delivered at Shabu area of Lafia, the state capital. Three suspects: Shuaibu Yahaya Liman, 35; Monday Audu, 33, and Linus Samuel, 42 have been arrested in connection with the seizure.
“The following day, Monday, February 5, operatives in Abuja, FCT arrested the duo of Jibrin Shuaibu, 23, and Prosper Innih, 17, with 169 bags and 80 blocks of compressed cannabis sativa weighing 1,961.5kgs concealed in a truck with registration number Ogun WDE 557 XC. The truck was intercepted during a stop-and-search operation along Abaji – Abuja highway on their way from Uzeba to Dei-Dei, FCT.
“In another operation by NDLEA operatives in Abuja on Tuesday February 6, a suspect, Abdulhameed Dauda, 27, was arrested with 89Kg of the same psychoactive substance loaded into his truck in Owo, Ondo state to be delivered at Gwagwalada in FCT.
“On the same day, operatives also intercepted another a driver, Hassan Ade, 30, transporting 696.5kg of the same substance loaded in Idoani, Ondo State to be delivered at Gwagwalada and Dei-Dei in FCT. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of a mother of three children, Joy Chukwuka, 42, linked with the consignment.”
The statement added that apart from the seizure of 633.5kgs of cannabis at Eleyere, Ogbese in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State NDLEA operatives also recovered 59 jumbo bags of the same substance loaded in a truck marked GAD 287 XA heading to Northern part of the country.
It said detergents were sprayed on the cannabis bags to suppress the odour of the psychoactive weed, while 192 packs of table water were loaded on top to conceal the illicit consignment.
The statement added, “Not less than 187kgs of same substance were seized by operatives at Sapele road, Benin, Edo state while in Kano, NDLEA officers on Monday, February 5, arrested 58-year-old Bashir Attahir in Bachirawa area of the state with 216,000 pills of tramadol 250mg. Another suspect, Ejike Moses Nmenme, 47, was nabbed the following day Tuesday, February 6 with 25,190 capsules of tramadol and different quantities of Rohypnol and codeine syrup along Emir Road, Sabon Gari area of the city while the duo of Yusuf Abdullahi Musa, 35, and Yusuf Musa, 28, were nabbed at Gadar Tamburawa, with 1,000 ampoules of tramadol injection on Thursday 8th February.
“In Borno state, a 42-year-old suspected supplier of illicit drugs to insurgents in Banki, a border region between Nigeria and Cameroon, Ahmad Mohammed was arrested by NDLEA operatives on Friday 9th February at Bama checkpoint. When his luggage was searched 20,000 capsules of tramadol were recovered from him while on his way to deliver the opioid consignment in the border town.
“A six-month pregnant woman, Amarachi Akaolisa, 25, and another lady, Ifeoma Iheanyi, 21, were among six suspects arrested for dealing in illicit substances in Oraifite and Umuni-Evili, Aguleri, Anambra state. Others nabbed include Okwuchukwu Chukwuka; Onyedika Ngwu; Ekene Hyginus and Nzomiwu Ikechukwu. Recovered from them were over 6 kilograms of cannabis, tramadol, diazepam and codeine syrup in raids conducted by NDLEA operatives between Tuesday 6th and Thursday 8th Feb in parts of the state.
“In Lagos, two ladies: Boluwatife Adebayo and Omolade Fola Adebayo were among suspects arrested during raids in parts of the state on Saturday 10th February. While Ogah Sunday Adole and Boluwatife Adebayo were arrested at Agidingbi, Ikeja, in connection with 220grams of cannabis, 10.6 litres of codeine syrup, and other psychotropic substances, Omolade Fola Adebayo was nabbed at Ijesha with various quantities of cannabis, codeine syrup, Rohypnol and molly.”
