NDLEA Seizes ₦10bn Cocaine, Opioids, Loud in Lagos
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 55-year-old Balogun Market trader, Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 3.3 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in cartons of food items destined for the United Kingdom. According to the agency, the suspect was arrested on July 23, a day after operatives intercepted the shipment at the export section of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. Investigations initially led to the arrest of three cargo agents Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina, Adeleke Abiola Taoheed and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim who handled the consignment. Their interrogation subsequently led officers to Kenneth Okakpu, who allegedly delivered the shipment, before investigators traced the operation to Onuigbo, identified as the alleged leader of the trafficking syndicate. The NDLEA said Onuigbo was arrested while attempting to export another cocaine shipment. In a separate operation, operatives arrested 31-year-old entrepreneur Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo at her residence in Surulere, Lagos, after recovering 2.8 kilogrammes of “Loud,” a synthetic strain of cannabis, which had arrived from the United States on a United Airlines flight. At the Lagos airport, NDLEA officers also intercepted an Air Maroc cargo shipment from India containing 2.24 million Tapentadol 250mg pills valued at more than N2.2 billion during a joint cargo examination based on intelligence. The agency further intercepted a shipment of tramadol concealed inside containers of black soap and bound for the United Kingdom at a Lagos courier company. At the Apapa Seaport, operatives uncovered 4,777 sachets of Canadian Loud weighing 2,388.5 kilogrammes and valued at over N7.1 billion. The illicit drugs were hidden inside a container carrying vehicles. In Katsina State, NDLEA operatives arrested 30-year-old Mustapha Sani during a patrol in Safana Local Government Area after allegedly recovering 323 rounds of military-grade ammunition concealed on him. Similarly, another suspect, Abubakar Amadu, was arrested along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway with 73 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition hidden inside containers of red palm oil. Both suspects have been handed over to the appropriate security agencies for further investigation. In Edo State, a raid on a warehouse in Ilushi community, Esan South-East Local Government Area, led to the seizure of 1,286 kilogrammes of cannabis and 86 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds. Two additional suspects, Ojore Onweze and George Agwumede, were also arrested in separate operations with quantities of skunk recovered from them. Beyond enforcement activities, the NDLEA said it has continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through sensitisation programmes in schools, communities, workplaces and places of worship across the country. NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain the agency’s efforts in combating drug trafficking while strengthening drug abuse prevention initiatives.