National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has nabbed a suspected drug trafficker, Egwu Phillip Inya, who claims to be a building engineer, while attempting to take delivery of illicit consignments concealed in pressure machines imported from South Africa.
Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Jahi, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, yesterday said the 42-year-old Egwu was arrested on December 2, this year at Okeyson Motor Park, Enugu when he showed up to collect three units of pressure machines.
Babafemi said hidden in the items were parcels of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 7.40 kilogrammes.
In a statement,Babafemi said: “The consignments had arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos import shed on 29th November 2024. Following credible intelligence, officers of the MMIA Strategic Command of the agency had monitored the shipment pass through clearing up to a logistics company’s warehouse outside the airport where it was to be collected by the consignee.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has arrested a suspected drug trafficker, Egwu Phillip Inya who claims to be a building engineer, while attempting to take delivery of illicit consignments concealed in pressure machines imported from South Africa.
Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Jahi, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday said the 42-year-old Egwu was arrested on Monday 2nd December 2024 at Okeyson motor park Enugu when he showed up to collect three units of pressure machines.
Babafemi said inside the items were hidden parcels of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 7.40 kilograms.
“The consignments had arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos import shed on 29th November 2024. Following credible intelligence, officers of the MMIA Strategic Command of the Agency had monitored the shipment pass through clearing processes up to a logistics company’s warehouse outside the airport where it was to be collected by the consignee.
“The importer however changed the point of collection to Enugu at the last minute. As a result, NDLEA operatives in a follow up operation in Enugu arrested Egwu when he showed up to collect the consignments.
“No fewer than 511,000 pills of tramadol were recovered from a Siena vehicle at Hildi, Askira Uba way in Adamawa state by NDLEA operatives on patrol along the road in the early hours of Friday 6th December. The occupants of the vehicle had made a detour on sighting the NDLEA team and after a distance abandoned the vehicle with the consignments after noticing the operatives were on their trail,” the statement reads
Babafemi said iin Ekiti state, two suspects: Olanrewaju Alale, 48, and Babatunde Kayode Ijadahun, 55, were arrested along Ise- Emure road in a J5 bus marked EPE 958 XJ while transporting 108 jumbo bags of cannabis weighing 1, 323 kilograms to Owo, Ondo state from where they claimed the consignment will be moved to the North for distribution.
He said another suspect, Adekunle Yusuf, 33, was nabbed by NDLEA operatives with 704 kilograms of the same psychoactive substance, concealed in white sacks on Friday 6th December at Idere road, Igboora, Oyo state.
The statement reads, “In Lagos, a grandmother, 65-year-old Ramata Bola Adeyemo was on Friday 6th December arrested by NDLEA operatives at 62 Odunfa street, Lagos Island, where 20.6 litres of codeine-based syrup were recovered from her. Also arrested in Lagos was Alhaji Lawan Manga who was picked at Ogundana Street, Ikeja on Thursday 5th December while 4.7kg cannabis and 1.3kg tramadol were recovered from him.
“With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitization lectures to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.
“These include: WADA sensitisation lecture to students and staff of Progressive Secondary School, Ado Awaye, Oyo state; Muslim Grammar School, Ede, Osun state; Government Girls College, Maiduguri, Borno state; Community Secondary School, Ogale, Rivers state; Santa Maria Secondary School, Igogoro, Enugu state; and Chiranci Upper Basic Junior Secondary School, Bichi, Kano state while Lagos State command of NDLEA organised WADA enlightenment lecture for leaders and members of NURTW, Orile Agege, Lagos, among others.
“While commending the officers and men of MMIA, Adamawa, Ekiti, Lagos, and Oyo Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.”
After weeks of intensive special operations training for officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, by men of an elite tactical unit of the French National Police, popularly called RAID, the government of France has assured the anti-narcotics agency of more collaboration and support.
This was according to a statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, yesterday.The assurance was given by the French Police Attachéin Nigeria, Mr. Phillipe Crespo when he led the trio of Messrs. Philippe Barrau, Tony Albaladejo and Cedric Hocquette on a courtesy visit to the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) at the agency’s national headquarters in Abuja.
The visit followed the conclusion of a series of special operations training for officers of Strike Force Unit in NDLEA at the agency’s academy in Jos, Plateau State. It was the third of such training in the last two years. Speaking during the visit, Mr. Crespo commended Marwa for the warm reception always accorded the French team and his willingness to collaborate with local and international partners in his determined effort to curb the scourge of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria.
He said the success of NDLEA’s operations is not only helping to protect Nigerians and Nigerian cities but equally, communities in foreign lands through the agency’s interdiction efforts that had led to huge seizures of assorted illicit drug consignments heading to Europe and other parts of the world. He said as a result, the French government through the French National Police will continue its support and collaboration with NDLEA.
He proposed that the growing partnership should be documented in a memorandum of understanding in the new year. In his remark, French technical expert, Phillipe Barrau praised the diligence, expertise and professionalism of NDLEA officers involved in the three weeks’ training exercise, adding that both sides had a lot to learn from each other.
He commended the support and capacity of the agency’s academy, which made the programme seamless and successful. In his response, Marwa expressed appreciation to the French government for the support and partnership.
He said they were arrested in connection with the seizure of 2.4 million kilogrammes of assorted illicit drugs seized by the anti-narcotics agency at seaports, airports, land borders and communities across the country.
Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters Abuja, Femi Babafemi, made this known yesterday.
Marwa said this while briefing members of the House of Representatives Committee on Narcotic Drugs who were on oversight visit to the national headquarters of NDLEA in Abuja.
He said with the record of work done by the agency in the past 10 months, “we can say with certainty that we are on course to beat the performance of the previous three years.”
He said: “Between January 1 and October 30, 2024, we recorded 14, 480 arrests of drug offenders, including 15 drug barons. Within the same time, we have been able to secure 2,867 convictions in court. This is far more than what we have achieved in each of the past three years. Our seizures in 10 months amounted to 2.4 million kilograms of illicit drugs, which also surpassed last year’s record.
“We successfully located and destroyed 547, 378 kilograms of cannabis plantations. Similarly, our drug demand reduction figure is on the positive side. In the past 10 months, the agency counselled and rehabilitated 6, 655 drug users.
“In the breath, we conducted a total of 3, 064 awareness campaigns and sensitisation lectures in schools, motor parks, worship centres, workplaces and communities, among others, which reached 1, 327, 181 people.”
He cited the largest single heroin seizure of 51.90kg in the history of the agency at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in February; securing life imprisonment sentences for some notorious drug traffickers; arrest of most wanted drug barons in Lagos and the recent passage of the NDLEA Act amendment bill as some of the milestones of the Agency in 2024.
While commending the lawmakers for their support in the outgoing year, Marwa urged them to remain steadfast so that the agency can achieve more.
“In the past three years, we have harnessed and maximised the limited resources at our disposal to achieve impressive results. We can do more, and we are ready to do more if given adequate resources. So, I will have to implore you not to relent or become weary of your oversight in ensuring that we are 100 percent mobilised in all our operations.
…intercepts UK-bound cocaine, pentazocine consignments in Lagos
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has arrested a Brazil-based businessman, Ezeokoli Sylva, with 700 grams of cocaine in his stomach, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos.
Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, said the discovery was made by operatives at the airport when the suspect who has lived in Brazil for 35 years returned home to Nigeria.
According to the statement, the 59-year-old Ezeokoli was arrested on Friday, November 29, at the E-Arrival hall of the Lagos airport upon his return from Sao Paulo, Brazil on Ethiopia Airlines flight via Addis Ababa.
According to the agency, when he was taken for a body scan, the result confirmed that the suspect had foreign objects concealed in his stomach, it indicated.
Babafemi said as a result, he was placed under excretion observation during which he expelled 29 wraps of substances that tested positive for cocaine weighing 700grams.
The NDLEA spokesman said according to the suspect’s statement, he claimed he operates an African store in Brazil where he sells provisions, shoes, and clothes.
He said the suspect claimed he bought the illicit consignment in Sao Paulo to resell in Nigeria with a view to raising substantial capital to boost his business.
He also said NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Investigation and General Investigation, DOGI, on Tuesday 26th November intercepted two consignments containing cocaine and pentazocine injection going to the United Kingdom via a courier company in Lagos.
He said while the cocaine weighing 200 grams was concealed in local fabrics, 40 ampoules of pentazocine injection weighing 110 grams were hidden in cartons.
The statement reads, “In Kano, NDLEA operatives on Thursday 28th November arrested three suspects: Jamilu Adamu, 38; Umar Musa, 32; and Bunu Ali, 27, with 2,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 3,135,000 pills exol-5 at Gadar Tamburawa, Zaria road.
“No fewer than 2, 120 kilograms of Ghanaian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis produced in Ghana were intercepted by NDLEA operatives at the Ilesan beach, Lagos on Thursday 28th November.
“A suspect, Onibogi Muftau was arrested in connection with the seizure while four vehicles that were to convey the shipments from the waterfront were also recovered. This came on the heels of the seizure of 472kg of the same psychoactive substance at Idi-Iroko, Imeko area of Ogun state on Monday 25th November.
“In Edo state, two suspects: Monday Onyenemue, 60, and Evans Omogiede, 42, were on Thursday 28th November arrested and 185.6kg cannabis as well as a Toyota Previa bus marked BEN 06XL conveying the consignment recovered during an intelligence-led raid by NDLEA operatives at Ukuwague street, Benin city.
“With the same vigour, Commands, and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, workplace,s and communities among others in the past week.
“These include: WADA sensitisation lecture to students and staff of Government Girls Secondary School, Kofar Wambai, Kano; Government Day Secondary School, Njoboli- Fulani, Yola, Adamawa state; Girls High School, Mgbowo, Enugu state; God’s Time College, Ikole Ekiti, Ekiti state while Cross River state Command delivered WADA sensitization lecture to traders at 8 Miles market, Calabar, among others.
“While commending the officers and men of MMIA, DOGI, Lagos, Kano, and Edo Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.”
The Chairman/CEO of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), has stressed the importance of ongoing training for personnel to effectively combat the drug menace.
He spoke at the closing ceremony of a two-week training program on international drug trafficking for NDLEA officers, sponsored by the German government.
The event, held on November 29, 2024, at the Agency’s headquarters in Abuja, was attended by top NDLEA officials and German instructors, including a representative from the German embassy.
Speaking at the occasion, Marwa said: “To tackle the drug challenge, the number one priority, obviously, is the professionalism of the human resources, which you can only achieve through training. Unless personnel are properly equipped with training, they cannot do their job. That is the more reason we are emphasizing the training of our personnel.”
The two-week training organised by the German Federal Criminal Police Office, otherwise known as Bundeskriminalamnt (BKA) covered core areas including principles of crime scene investigations and training in West Africa Police Investigation System (WAPIS).
The 23 participants, drawn from various departments of the Agency, were engaged in classroom work, presentations and practical exercises for the duration of the programme.
The representative of the German embassy, Ms. Uduak Abasi Akpabio said: “The federal foreign office funding of this programme is part of the German government’s greater engagement in police reforms and security sector reform more generally. Our support reflects the German government’s commitment to fostering stability, especially as it pertains to addressing the menace of international drug trafficking.”
She further appreciated the work of the NDLEA which she described as “a critical pillar in safeguarding Nigeria’s stability, security and wellbeing of its citizens”, adding that “By investing in the capacity of these officers, you have strengthened not only Nigeria’s fight against drug trafficking but also the global framework for combating this menace.”
While appreciating the German government’s gesture, Marwa said: “We appreciate deeply the gesture of supporting the NDLEA with the right training for combating international drug trafficking. It’s a collaborative effort now. Because the drug terrain is international.”
He noted that the canine unit supplied and funded by the Germans has been very effective in critical cases such as the discovery of the Captagon shipment in Lagos Port in 2021.
“To those who have been trained today, congratulations. You are quite lucky to receive this calibre of training from the BKA, one of the world’s most efficient institutions on criminal policing. You have to remember that German training in any respect is at its peak globally.
“Count yourselves lucky that you are beneficiaries of training from BKA and you have to take full advantage of it and let’s see it on the ground. We also, in time, take full advantage of this training to also train others in the skills that you have acquired,” he said.
The ceremony featured the presentation of certificates to the participants.
The BKA liaison officer in Nigeria, Dominik Muller presented a donation of kits and resources for substance test to the agency, while the NDLEA also presented plaques and mementos to the trainers in appreciation of their efforts.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), has urged the agency’s personnel to remain focused and dedicated to the fight against drug cartels.
Marwa spoke yesterday during the relocation of the agency’s headquarters from Gimbiya Street in Garki area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to its new facility in Jahi area of Abuja.
The new headquarters is being developed in phases.
The NDLEA boss said the relocation represented a phase in its transformation and recalibration into a modern and result-oriented anti-narcotic agency, which started in January 2021.
A statement yesterday in Abuja by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said the facility, which is the first phase of the national headquarters project expected to be completed with the 2025 budgetary provisions, was officially unveiled during an interdenominational service within the complex yesterday.
“I’m glad we have finally moved in to occupy this facility after initial budgetary constraints. Even though this is the first phase of the new headquarters project, we are hopeful that we will be able to complete the process with next year budget.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has relocated its headquarters to its new facility, which is being developed in phases in the Jahi area of Abuja.
The director of media and advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters in Abuja, Femi Babafemi, made this known in a statement on Wednesday.
Babafemi said the facility, which is the first phase of the national headquarters project expected to be completed with the 2025 budgetary provisions, was officially unveiled during an interdenominational service within the complex on Wednesday, November 26th, 2024.
Speaking during the brief ceremony, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, said the development represents a phase in the transformation and recalibration of NDLEA into a modern and result-oriented anti-narcotic Agency, a process that began in January 2021.
“I’m glad we have finally moved in to occupy this facility after initial budgetary constraints. Even though this is the first phase of the new headquarters project, we are hopeful that we will be able to complete the process with next year’s budget.
“This is not 100% completed but it is sufficiently functional for us to move in I was determined to move in before the end of 2024 because with the expansion of the Agency, the headquarters also expanded, and in our old location we could not accommodate everyone. I have had to post scores of officers due to a lack of space for them to work.
“It was for this reason that the management took a unanimous decision that since it was not 100% ready and we needed it, we should make it a low-key inauguration ceremony. This will enable us to relocate some of our directorates still operating outside Abuja into one facility to consolidate our operations for efficiency, effectiveness, and seamless coordination”, Marwa stated.
While stating that the old head office in Gimbiya, Garki area of the FCT will continue to serve as the headquarters annex, the NDLEA boss expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his continued support and encouragement to the Agency to be in a position to achieve its mandate of curbing substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in the country.
“The support we are getting from our international partners and local stakeholders, especially President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly, the Judiciary,y and the citizenry, is not just to appreciate our efforts but to encourage us to do more and I believe this new work environment will motivate you to surpass past feats”, Marwa told a crowd of excited management staff, officers and men of the Agency at the ceremony.
He commended his predecessor for starting the process of getting a befitting headquarters for the Agency.
In his welcome remark, Secretary to the Agency, Shadrach Haruna, commended Marwa for providing inspiring leadership that has in three years transformed NDLEA into the same class as its counterparts across the world in terms of professionalism, capability, and capacity.
“The commissioning of our headquarters today is part of the incremental but well-laid agenda for the repositioning of the Agency by the chairman. We have witnessed some monumental achievements since 2021, including increasing the staff strength of the Agency from 5,000 to 15,000. Promotion of officers, opening up of vacancies, payment of accumulated allowances to staff and widows of our fallen officers, the recent amendment of the Agency’s enabling law by the National Assembly, and many more,” he said.
Christian and Islamic prayers were offered for President Tinubu and Nigeria while a commemorative plaque was unveiled to mark the event.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it has dismantled a drug syndicate controlled by a Chinese man, 58-year-old Tianzhen Yen (alias Jackie,) and arrested the suspect in Lagos.
Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, who made this known in a statement yesterday, said Yen was arrested in his hotel in the Ikeja area of Lagos.
According to the statement, officers of the Seme Special Area Command of the agency had on Thursday intercepted a 40-year-old suspect, Yakubu Emmanuel Mark in a commercial bus going to Ghana at the Gbaji checkpoint along Badagry-Seme expressway based on credible intelligence.
When he was searched, a total of 750grams of cocaine were found in his bag.
A swift follow up operation was organized to trace and arrest the kingpin behind the trans-border drug trafficking syndicate, who turned out to be a Chinese citizen, Tianzhen Yen.
He was eventually traced to MC Hotel behind Alade market, Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, the statement revealed.
“When his hotel room was searched, 4.3grams of cocaine; a gram of methamphetamine; two electronic weighing scales; and Chinese National Identification Number Card, among other exhibits were recovered while he was arrested in the vicinity of the hotel,” Babafemi said.
He also said the agency arrested a 50-year-old businessman, Osuoha Christian Iheanacho, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, AIIA, Enugu, for ingesting 90 wraps of cocaine.
He said: “Osuoha was intercepted on Wednesday at the arrival hall of the Enugu airport during the inbound screening of passengers arriving from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on an Ethiopian airlines flight following months of intelligence and surveillance on him.
“He was subsequently placed on excretion observation during which he digested 90 pellets of cocaine weighing 2.019 kilograms in seven excretions.
“Investigation reveals that the suspect who operates phone and accessories business in Lagos and Gabon, Central Africa, travelled by road from Gabon to Douala, Cameroon from where he took a flight to Addis Ababa where he swallowed the pellets of cocaine while in transit and thereafter continued his journey to Enugu with Lagos as his final destination.
“He deliberately complicated his movement to distort traces of his travel history unknown to him that he has been on NDLEA watchlist for the past three months. In his statement, Osuoha said he desperately needed the money from the criminal drug trade to boost his declining phone and accessories business,” he said.
Babafemi said in another well-coordinated operation carried out by a Special Operations Unit of the agency on Thursday, head of a cocaine distribution cartel, 42-year-old Ndive Maxwell Obinna was arrested along with five of his associates at Ago Palace Way in Okota, Isolo, Lagos. A total of 2.412 kilograms of cocaine were recovered from them.
Other members of the drug trafficking organization arrested along Obinna include:
Okeke Gloria Ifeoma who is the syndicate’s stash keeper; Ikechebelu Emmanuel Chibuzor; Okorie Onyedikachi; Okonkwo Nnabugo Prince; and Okafor Blessing Anita, he said.
He also said at the Tincan seaport in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Friday intercepted 92 parcels of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis with a combined weight of 23.25kg concealed in two vehicles imported from Canada: a Nissan car and a GMC bus.
He said the discovery was made during a joint examination of a container from Canada by NDLEA officers, men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other stakeholders.
Babafemi also said in Rivers state, NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports complex, Onne, on Thursday, intercepted two containers of imported opioids during a joint examination with men of Customs Service and other security agencies.
He said a total of 168,000 bottles of codeine based syrup worth N1.1 billion in street value, were recovered from one of the containers while the second one container, 4,5 million pills of super royal tramadol 225mg valued at N3.1 billion, ringing the combined value of both the codeine and tramadol consignments to N4.3 billion.
The statement reads “In Ekiti state, NDLEA operatives on November 17, arrested a 50-year-old physically challenged woman, Mustapha Boja, with 286 grams of Colorado and Loud strains of cannabis at Araromi street, Ikere-Ekiti, while 64kg of cannabis sativa was recovered at Akinyele motor park, Ibadan, Oyo state on Thursday.
..nabs businessman at Enugu airport for ingesting 90 wraps of cocaine
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has dismantled a drug syndicate controlled by a Chinese man, 58-year-old Tianzhen Yen (alias Jackie,) and arrested the suspect in Lagos.
Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, who made this known in a statement on Sunday, said Yen was arrested in his hotel in the Ikeja area of Lagos.
According to the statement, officers of the Seme Special Area Command of the Agency had on Thursday 21st November intercepted a 40-year-old suspect, Yakubu Emmanuel Mark in a commercial bus going to Ghana at the Gbaji checkpoint along Badagry-Seme expressway based on credible intelligence.
When he was searched, a total of 750grams of cocaine were found in his bag.
A swift follow up operation was organized to trace and arrest the kingpin behind the trans-border drug trafficking syndicate, who turned out to be a Chinese citizen, Tianzhen Yen.
He was eventually traced to MC Hotel behind Alade market, Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, the statement revealed.
“When his hotel room was searched, 4.3grams of cocaine; a gram of methamphetamine; two electronic weighing scales; and Chinese National Identification Number Card, among other exhibits were recovered while he was arrested in the vicinity of the hotel,” Babafemi said.
He also said the Agency arrested a 50-year-old businessman, Osuoha Christian Iheanacho, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, AIIA, Enugu, for ingesting 90 wraps of cocaine.
“Osuoha was intercepted on Wednesday 20th November 2024 at the arrival hall of the Enugu airport during the inbound screening of passengers arriving from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on an Ethiopian airlines flight following months of intelligence and surveillance on him.
“He was subsequently placed on excretion observation during which he egested 90 pellets of cocaine weighing 2.019 kilograms in seven excretions.
“Investigation reveals that the suspect who operates phone and accessories business in Lagos and Gabon, Central Africa, travelled by road from Gabon to Douala, Cameroon from where he took a flight to Addis Ababa where he swallowed the pellets of cocaine while in transit and thereafter continued his journey to Enugu with Lagos as his final destination.
“He deliberately complicated his movement to distort traces of his travel history unknown to him that he has been on NDLEA watchlist for the past three months. In his statement, Osuoha said he desperately needed the money from the criminal drug trade to boost his declining phone and accessories business,” he said.
Babafemi said in another well-coordinated operation carried out by a Special Operations Unit of the Agency on Thursday 21st November, head of a cocaine distribution cartel, 42-year-old Ndive Maxwell Obinna was arrested along with five of his associates at Ago Palace Way in Okota, Isolo, Lagos. A total of 2.412 kilograms of cocaine were recovered from them.
Other members of the drug trafficking organization arrested along Obinna include: Okeke Gloria Ifeoma who is the syndicate’s stash keeper; Ikechebelu Emmanuel Chibuzor; Okorie Onyedikachi; Okonkwo Nnabugo Prince; and Okafor Blessing Anita, he said.
He also said at the Tincan seaport in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Friday 22nd November intercepted 92 parcels of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis with a combined weight of 23.25kg concealed in two vehicles imported from Canada: a Nissan car and a GMC bus.
He said the discovery was made during a joint examination of a container from Canada by NDLEA officers, men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other stakeholders.
Babafemi also said in Rivers state, NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports complex, Onne, on Thursday 21st November intercepted two containers of imported opioids during a joint examination with men of Customs Service and other security agencies.
He said a total of 168,000 bottles of codeine based syrup worth One Billion One Hundred and Seventy Six Million Naira (N1,176,000,000) only in street value, were recovered from one of the containers while the second one containedvin Four Million Five Hundred Thousand (4,500,000) pills of super royal tramadol 225mg valued at Three Billion One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (N3,150,000,000) only, bringing the combined value of both the codeine and tramadol consignments to Four Billion Three Hundred and Twenty Six Million Naira (N4,326,000,000) only.
The statement reads: “In Ekiti state, NDLEA operatives on Sunday 17th November arrested a 50-year-old physically challenged woman, Mustapha Boja, with 286 grams of Colorado and Loud strains of cannabis at Araromi street, Ikere-Ekiti, while 64kg of cannabis sativa was recovered at Akinyele motor park, Ibadan, Oyo state on Thursday 21st November.
“Not less than 1,200.5 kilograms of same psychoactive substance were seized during raids by NDLEA officers in parts of Edo state. At Utese forest in Ovia North East LGA, 463.5kg was recovered on Thursday 21st November; while 507kg was seized at a compound in Owan village, Ovia LGA where the duo of David Ojo Ederin, 60, and Afoje Frank, 24, were arrested on Friday 22nd November. Another suspect, Godwin Okhoya, 40, was nabbed with 230kg of same substance at Okpuje, Owan West LGA.
“In Kano, four suspects: Usman Sani, 25; Abdul Mohd, 28; Bunu Ali,27; and Umar Musa, 30, were on Tuesday 19th November arrested by NDLEA operatives at Gadar Tamburawa, Zaria- Kano road, with 100 blocks of cannabis weighing 45kg, while Ayuba Umar Zaranda, 55, was nabbed with 124kg cannabis at Pengana village, Toro LGA, Bauchi state.
“With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.
“These include: WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of Sardauna Academy, Malumfashi, Katsina state; Community Secondary School, Ede-Oballa, Nsukka, Enugu state; Government Secondary School, Riji, Kano state; Government Secondary School, Ogba, Ahoada East LGA, Rivers state and the youths and community leaders of Ilawe Ekiti, Ekiti state, among others.
“While commending the officers and men of AIIA, SIU,Tincan, Onne, Seme, Ekiti, Oyo, Kano, Bauchi, and Edo Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.”
