The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested several drug traffickers and seized large quantities of illicit drugs in a series of operations across Nigeria, including Lagos, Gombe, Kaduna, and Bauchi states.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport intercepted an Ibadan-based businesswoman, Mrs. Adewunmi Adebola Dorcas, and her accomplice, an auto parts dealer, Arinze Ora, for attempting to export consignments of opioids and cocaine to the United Kingdom and Congo Brazzaville. The agency discovered 924 bottles of codeine-based syrup weighing 135.70kg and 5,250 rohypnol tablets hidden in cartons of foodstuffs. The consignment was traced back to Mrs. Adewunmi after the arrest of her son, Adewunmi Akeem Temitope.
In a similar operation, NDLEA officers found 300 grams of cocaine hidden in containers of custard powder headed for Congo Brazzaville. The sender, Arinze Ora, was arrested at his shop in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.
Meanwhile, two brothers, Ikechukwu and Ugochukwu Ikeabba, were arrested in connection with drug trafficking operations to Vietnam. They were identified as sponsors of drug traffickers, following the earlier arrest of Onitsha-based businessman Ibeanusi Solomon Nosike, who excreted 68 wraps of cocaine. Another Vietnam-bound businessman, Paul Okwuy Mbadugha, was arrested in Abuja after ingesting 88 wraps of cocaine.
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In Gombe, a truck carrying 2,490,000 tramadol pills was intercepted, while in Kaduna, 41.5 kilograms of cannabis were seized. NDLEA also recovered 208,920 tramadol and diazepam pills in Bauchi, and another 104kg of cannabis was confiscated on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
At the Tincan port in Lagos, NDLEA officers uncovered 350,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup in two containers from India during a joint examination with Customs.
Commending the NDLEA officers for their work, NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) stated, “These operational successes demonstrate the Agency’s commitment to fighting drug trafficking. I urge all officers to intensify efforts in both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction.”
Marwa also praised the Agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, which continued its sensitization activities in schools, mosques, and communities across the country.