Insurgents’ Drug Supplier Arrested as NDLEA Intercepts 7.6 tons of Illicit Drugs

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

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 7,609 kilogrammes of assorted illicit drugs in eight states.

A statement yesterday  highlighting the achievements of the anti-narcotics agency in the past week by its spokesman, Femi Babafemi said the bulk of the seizures was made in Nasarawa state where NDLEA operatives, acting on credible intelligence on Sunday 4th February intercepted a truck marked Lagos JJJ 64 YC conveying 367 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 4,037 kilogrammes 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 were arrested in connection with the seizure.

Babafemi said last Monday 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 1,961.5 kilogrammes concealed in a truck with registration number Ogun WDE 557 XC. He added that the truck was intercepted during a stop and search operation along Abaji – Abuja highway on their way from Uzeba to Dei-Dei, FCT.

The spokesman said in another operation by NDLEA operatives in Abuja last Tuesday, a suspect, Abdulhameed Dauda, 27, was arrested with 89 kilogrammes 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 driver, Hassan Ade, 30, transporting 696.5 kilogrammes of the same substance loaded in Idoani, Ondo state to be delivered at Gwagwalada and Dei-Dei in FCT. He revealed that a follow up operation led to the arrest of a mother of three children, Mrs. Joy Chukwuka, 42, linked with the consignment.

In Ondo state, he said, apart from the seizure of 633.5 kilogrammes of cannabis at Eleyere, Ogbese in Akure North local government area, NDLEA operatives also recovered 59 jumbo bags of same substance loaded in a truck marked GAD 287 XA heading to Northern part of the country. He noted that detergents were sprayed on the cannabis bags ostensibly to suppress the odour of the psychoactive weed, while 192 packs of table water were loaded on top to conceal the illicit consignment.

Babafemi said not less than 187 kilogrammes of same substance were seized by operatives at Sapele road, Benin, Edo state while in Kano, NDLEA officers last Monday 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 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 last Thursday.

In Borno state, a 42-year-old suspected supplier of illicit drugs to insurgents in Banki, a border town between Nigeria and Cameroon, Ahmad Mohammed was arrested by NDLEA operatives last Friday at Bama check point. 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.

Babafemi also said 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, and recovered from them were over six kilogrammes of cannabis, tramadol, diazepam and codeine syrup in raids conducted by NDLEA operatives between last Tuesday and Thursday in parts of the state.

He said in Lagos, two ladies: Boluwatife Adebayo and Omolade Adebayo were among suspects arrested during raids in parts of the state last Saturday. While Ogah Adole and Boluwatife Adebayo were arrested at Agidingbi, Ikeja, in connection with 220 grammes of cannabis, 10.6 litres of codeine syrup, and other psychotropic substances,

Omolade Adebayo, according to him, was nabbed at Ijesha with various quantities of cannabis, codeine syrup, rohypnol and molly.

Babafemi also said the Commands across the country balanced their drug supply reduction operations with War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy campaigns to schools, markets, worship centres and communities.

Meanwhile, while commending the efforts of the Nasarawa, FCT, Ondo, Kano, Borno, Edo, Anambra and Lagos Commands of the agency for jobs well done in the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) urged them and their compatriots across the country to always strive to surpass past feats in their drug supply and drug demand reduction efforts.