A Milan Italy-based Nigerian Gabriel Michael was on Friday 5th September arrested by NDLEA operatives at the departure hall of terminal 1 of the Lagos airport while attempting to board an Air France flight to Italy.
He was found to have concealed a total of 24,480 pills of tramadol 100mg, 200mg and 225mg, which he claimed he was going to sell for 19,520 euros.
A total of 160,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup were discovered in a 40ft container during a joint examination of the shipment by NDLEA officers and men of Nigeria Customs and other security agencies at the West Africa Container Terminal (WACT) Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers state on Thursday 4th September. The container which has 220 cartons of ceramic sanitary wares used as cover for the codeine syrup was one of the shipments watch-listed and tracked by a special operations unit of NDLEA while the illicit consignment has an estimated street value of over N1.1 billion.
In the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, NDLEA operatives on a stop and search operation on Thursday 4th September arrested a dispatch rider Joel Bernard, 32, in Gwarimpa area of the FCT while conveying 3.1kg Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence on Monday 1st September arrested the duo of Tunde Ayinla, 47, and Olawale Omotare, 54, while loading four distribution vehicles at their 28 Ola Street, Ijesha Surulere home. Recovered from them include: 9kg of Canadian Loud; 5kg of Colorado and 1,101 compressed blocks of Ghana Loud weighing 611kg, bringing the total weight of the combined seizures to 625 kilograms.
In another raid in Lagos, operatives on Friday 5th September arrested a couple: Andy David, 43, and Andy Esther, 44, with 24.4kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis, recovered from their home in Ajegunle area of the state.
While 45-year-old Musa Isah was arrested with 53.400kg skunk concealed in two cartons in the trunk of his Toyota Avensus car marked ABC 338 SS in Kogi state, Yunusa Zakari, 23, was nabbed in a follow up operation in Auchi, Edo state on Friday 5th September in connection with the earlier seizure of 233kg skunk in Kakau, Kaduna state.
Not less than 11,000 pills of tramadol were recovered from a suspect Ayouk Nelson, 28, when he was arrested by NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 3rd September at 61 Bida road, Onitsha, Anambra State, just as operatives on patrol along Minna-Bida road Niger state on Tuesday 2nd September intercepted a white Toyota Hilux vehicle. A search led to the seizure of 30 bags of skunk weighing 342 kilograms while the driver Afolayan Ayodele, 54, conveying the consignment was arrested.
In Taraba state, a total of 18,750 kilograms of skunk were destroyed on 7.5 hectares of cannabis plantations at Joro-Ade village, Ardo Kola, LGA on Tuesday 2nd September. Owners of the two farms: Mako Zmar, 55, and Sani Titus, 45, were arrested during the operation.
Across the country, NDLEA Commands continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitization lectures and advocacy visits to worship centres, workplaces, palaces of traditional rulers and communities all through the past week. Instances include: WADA sensitization lecture to officers and men of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Lafia, Nasarawa state; ward heads in Kano Municipal Council, Kano state; and members of traditional medicine practitioners association, Awgu local government area, Anambra state, while the Kogi state strategic command of NDLEA paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Ohi of Ihima and Chairman Okehi LGA council of traditional rulers, HRH Alhaji Abdulraheem Ahmed Ogido, among others.
While commending the officers and men of MMIA, PHPC, Lagos, FCT, Anambra, Taraba, Kaduna, Kogi, and Niger Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to intensify the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.
