The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered a syndicate that secretly planted illicit drugs in the luggage of unsuspecting passengers at motor parks
In a statement issued by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy of NDLEA on Sunday, stated that the syndicate was uncovered following a joint operation by its operatives in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Anambra State after a suspicious consignment was intercepted in a commercial bus travelling from Nnewi to Abuja.
According to the NDLEA, operatives intercepted the bus at Abaji in the FCT and recovered a waybill package containing 467.7 grams of methamphetamine concealed inside a black nylon bag hidden in a sack of clothes bearing the receiver’s phone number.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the supposed recipient, Mrs. Gloria Peter, at Utako Motor Park in Abuja.
However, she denied any knowledge of the package, prompting investigators to widen their investigation.
The agency said the investigation led to the arrest of loaders of the commercial bus in Nnewi, where one of them confessed that the drug package had been secretly planted in the woman’s luggage on the instruction of the bus driver, Abdurrazak Isah.
Further interrogation of the driver reportedly exposed one Onyebuchi Victor Okoye as the actual owner of the illicit consignment. Okoye was subsequently arrested in Abuja.
In another major operation, NDLEA operatives have arrested a 38-year-old businesswoman, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, at the departure hall of Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Beijing, China.
The suspect, who claimed she regularly travelled to China to purchase goods for sale in Nigeria, was found with 7.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in a professionally constructed false bottom of her suitcase following a thorough search based on intelligence.
The anti-narcotics agency also announced the seizure of 4,959 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, concealed inside a 40-foot container at the Apapa Port in Lagos.
The illicit consignment, estimated to have a street value of ₦12.397 billion, was recovered after NDLEA operatives monitored the shipment for more than four weeks from Toronto, Canada, through Morocco before its arrival in Nigeria.
The container, which also carried a Ford and Nissan vehicle, was examined jointly by officers of the NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies at the Apapa Port Complex.
In another operation, operatives have arrested 57-year-old Ikechukwu Uwakwe at Iddo Motor Park in Lagos with 209.5 kilograms of Scottish Loud allegedly being transported to Enugu State.
Similarly, two Beninese nationals, Hossou Tito Julien and Mancellim Dossou, alongside a Nigerian, Jackson ThankGod, were arrested on the Mile 2 Bridge in Lagos after NDLEA intercepted their truck conveying 558,900 pills of Tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment.
The agency also arrested Lucky Abonga and Osas Azamobo along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway with 118 kilograms of skunk hidden among legitimate goods in a truck heading to Onitsha, Anambra State.
In Amukoko, Lagos, two women, Helen Ese Idiji and Rashidat Sa’adullah, were arrested with 28.8 kilograms of skunk.
Investigations revealed that Helen allegedly used Rashidat’s residence as a storage point before distributing the drugs to customers.
Beyond enforcement operations, NDLEA said its Commands across the country continued the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign in schools and communities, with awareness programmes held in Yobe, Lagos, Kano, Kogi and Enugu states.
Commending officers involved in the successful operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised their commitment to reducing drug supply while sustaining public enlightenment campaigns, urging them to remain steadfast in the fight against illicit drug trafficking.
