Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have detained one Nwadinobi Charles Uchemadu, a returnee from Brazil who was travelling via Doha on a Qatar Airways flight, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, with packages of cocaine hidden in various locations of a travel bag brought into Nigeria.
On Monday, December 5, Uchemadu was detained at the Lagos airport during the inward screening of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight when three factory-sealed cocaine packages totalling 2.70 kg were found in some of his luggage.
The same day, NDLEA agents detained cans of powdered milk, baby food, and beverages designed to conceal 3.4 kilograms of cannabis headed for Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Ewelike Chibuike Cyril, a freight agent who presented the shipment for export, was subsequently detained.
According to a statement from NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi, in a similar vein, packages of cannabis weighing 6.30 kg that was being sent to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea through the SAHCO export shed of the airport were also seized on December 8 by the same operations that also detained a freight agent, Joseph Obiji, involved.
The following day, on December 9, another agent, Mbanu Ifeanyi Andrew, was captured in a follow-up operation.
“At the Akala notorious drug hub in Mushin area of Lagos, no fewer than 15 drug dealers including two ladies were arrested with 1,400kgs of cannabis Sativa among other illicit substances such as heroin, methamphetamine, and 320 bottles of codeine syrup recovered from them during a raid of the area on Friday, December 9.
“Another raid of the popular Idumota business district of Lagos Island on Saturday 10th December led to the seizure of 35,014 pills of tramadol, diazepam, Rohypnol and 21.2 litres of codeine syrup while a targeted notorious dealer is still on the run.
“This is even as officers of the Directorate of Seaports Operations of the agency arrested a Malian, Dembele Ousmane, on Monday 5th December with 32,400 capsules of tramadol 225mg concealed in factory-packed buckets of custard while attempting to travel to Mali via boat at Ebute-Ero Jetty in Lagos”, NDLEA said.
It also said that in Ondo State, operatives on Tuesday, December 6, stormed Sharp Corner, Ipele Forest in Owo area of the state where they arrested Rotimi Oyekan and Precious Aluju with C/S weighing 903.3kgs, while another team of NDLEA officers arrested Babatunde Oluyara at Igbotako area of the state, with 168.5kgs of the same substance; 6kgs of monkey tail and various quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin.
“In Kebbi State, two suspects, Austine Julius and Sale Yakubu, were arrested on Sunday 4th December along Yawuri-Kebbi road in a loaded Dyna Truck with 117 bags of cannabis Sativa weighing 1,070 kilogrammes concealed under bags of oranges. T
he following day, Monday 5th December, another set of two suspects, Abdullahi Bala and Ibrahim Wade, were intercepted along Koko- Kebbi road in a Dyna Truck loaded with 114 bags of the same substance weighing 1,140 kilogrammes concealed under crates of soft drinks.
“A raid operation in Abbi town, Ndokwa West LGA, Delta State led to the arrest of a pregnant 30-year-old dealer, Aniekem Evelyn, with 1,161kgs of C/S recovered from her warehouse”, the agency said.
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