NDLEA Nabs Two Suspected Drug Traffickers with N264m Cocaine in Abuja

By Michael Olugbode

Two persons have been nabbed in Abuja with 1.1 kilogrammes of cocaine worth N264 million by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA).

A statement on Wednesday by the spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, read: “A trans-border trafficker, Emeka Okoro, and another drug dealer, Ibrahim Bello, have been arrested in Abuja by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), with cocaine weighing 1.1 kilogramme, which has a street value of N264 million.”

Babafemi said Okoro was intercepted with 900 grammes of cocaine in a commercial bus along Abuja-Gwagwalada road on Monday, April 26, 2021 based on intelligence, while Bello was nabbed with 200 grammes of the illicit drug in Zuba area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), same day through a controlled delivery operation.

Speaking on the arrest, FCT Commander of the Agency, Mohammed Sokoto, said Okoro was an intending traveller to Libya through Kano and Agadez in Niger Republic, and had wraps of cocaine weighing 900 grammes, while the other seizure of 200 grammes was equally made following intelligence on April 26, 2021.

He said: “The wraps of cocaine were not to be swallowed as has always been the case, but to be concealed in Jerry cans of palm oil and transported through the border in Kano to Agadez and Libya. The suspect, Emeka Okoro, revealed that this has been the trend in the past months.”

In another development, the Kogi State Command of the Agency has intercepted 157.5 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in false panels in a Peugeot J5 bus with registration number Lagos AGL 641 XW, while a 43-year-old suspect, Christian Godwin, was arrested.

According to the Commander, Kogi State Command of the Agency, Adewunmi Alfred, the suspect and his consignment were intercepted at a patrol point in Lokoja, the state capital.

He said: “The skunk was sourced from Ikire in Osun State and heading to Masaka in Nasarawa State before our men arrested the suspect, seized the illicit drug and the vehicle used to convey it on Monday 26th April, 2021.”

In his reaction, the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), commended officers and men of the FCT and Kogi State Commands of the Agency for their vigilance and commitment to the task of ridding the country of illicit drugs.

He said: “These seizures and arrests in FCT and Kogi point to the fact that we’ll continue to disrupt and dismantle the drug supply networks of these unconscionable elements and deny them the benefit of their illegal trade.”