Attempts by drug syndicates to export large consignments of cocaine, methamphetamine, and opioids through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, to the United Kingdom, Italy, Turkey, and Qatar have been thwarted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). In a series of intelligence-led operations, the NDLEA recovered the illicit drugs and arrested the masterminds behind the smuggling attempts.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi, disclosed that a total of 13 parcels of cocaine, weighing 4.40 kg, destined for the United Kingdom via Frankfurt on a Lufthansa Airlines flight, were intercepted at the export shed of the Lagos airport on November 5, 2024. A businessman linked to the consignment, Ekeocha Anayo Nelson, was tracked and arrested on November 8.
Similarly, the agency foiled an attempt by another businessman, Adegbite Solomon (alias Obama), to export 7,800 pills of tramadol, 180 tablets of rohypnol, and 60 bottles of codeine to Italy. He was arrested on November 11 at the departure hall of the Lagos airport, where NDLEA operatives recovered the opioids concealed in food and other items as he attempted to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Solomon claimed to have previously traveled to Europe through the Mediterranean Sea, earning a living as a street beggar before venturing into logistics.
Another businessman, Anoke Kingsley Roomy, was arrested on November 15 with 1,100 pills of tramadol (225 mg) hidden in his luggage while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Istanbul, Turkey, at Terminal 1 of the Lagos airport.
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In Abuja, following credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI), alongside their counterparts from the FCT Command, raided a hotel room at the Federal Housing Authority Estate, Lugbe, on November 15. During the operation, two suspects, Omeh Uchenna Jude and Anene Valentine Chigozie, were arrested, and 1.8 kg of methamphetamine was recovered, which they were preparing to smuggle to Qatar.
In Lagos, a suspect, Akande Moruf Olasunkanmi, was arrested at his residence on 9 Durojaiye Street, Lawanson, Surulere, with 1.8 kg of methamphetamine. His arrest followed weeks of intelligence gathering and surveillance by the agency’s Special Operations Unit.
In another operation, NDLEA task force officers intercepted a trans-border trafficker, Emmanuel Okechukwu Okeke, on Saturday as he attempted to smuggle 50,000 pills of tramadol (225 mg) from Ghana into Lagos. The pills were concealed in the body compartments of a Toyota Hummer Bus belonging to GUO Transport Company, driven by the suspect. The vehicle was intercepted at the Ijanikin area of the Lagos-Badagry expressway.
In Edo State, a total of 997 kg of cannabis was seized during raids across different locations. While 680 kg of cannabis and a Sienna bus marked FST-320 AE were seized along a bush path leading to the Oghada forest in Orhionmwan Local Government Area (LGA), 180.5 kg of the substance was recovered from a suspect, Cecilia Ibe, at Ofosu forest in Ovia South-West LGA. Additionally, 136.5 kg was evacuated from a building in Otuo community, Owan East LGA, on November 14.
On November 13, NDLEA operatives arrested a suspect, Ifejimagha Chinonso, with 88.3 kg of cannabis during a patrol along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Meanwhile, personnel of the Kano Command arrested Ahmed Goni at Gadar Tamburawa on the Kano-Zaria road on Friday, recovering 65,730 capsules of tramadol from him.
In Kwara State, operatives apprehended a suspect, Adio Sulaiman, with 120.8 kg of cannabis and some bottles of codeine at Gaa Odota in Ilorin West LGA. Similarly, Kelechi Obichere was arrested with 75 kg of cannabis in Eziobodo, Owerri West LGA, Imo State, on November 14.
In Oyo State, a 60-year-old suspect, Anthony Anakabi, was arrested at Iyalode, Iyana Church area of Ibadan, with 563.74 kg of cannabis.
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