Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested an automobile spare parts dealer Ejiofor Chiwuzie over attempt to export consignments of heroin and loud, a strain of cannabis, concealed in LED rechargeable lamps and sofa metal legs through the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
A statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi said Ejiofor was arrested last Tuesday at the Trade Fair complex, Ojo area of Lagos where he sells automobile spare parts following the seizure of his cargo containing auto parts, rechargeable lamps, sofa metal legs and electronics going to Liberia at the export shed of the Lagos airport.
Babafemi said concealed inside the LED lamps and sofa legs were 37 parcels of heroin weighing 1.1 kilogrammes and four blocks of loud with a total weight of 1.2 kilogrammes, adding that a swift follow up operation led to the arrest of two freight agents and then Ejiofor who sent the consignment.
Attempts by drug trafficking networks to export consignments of loud, tramadol pills, co-codamol tablets, pentazocine injection, dihydrocodeine and promethazine tabs through some courier companies to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Thailand and Oman were foiled by NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operation and General Investigation, DOGI, attached to the logistics firms.
The spokesman said while 2.3 kilogrammes of loud hidden in a carton was going to Thailand, 749 grammes of tramadol concealed in soles of locally made footwears were heading to Oman, with 60 ampoules of pentazocine injection going to the United States. No less than 200 pills of co-codamol were meant for Australia while a total of 700 tablets of dihydrocodeine, promethazine and tramadol as well as 20 ampoules of pentazocine injection concealed in soles of footwears were heading to the United Kingdom, and ending for Canada were 58 ampoules of pentazocine injection hidden in female cloths.
He disclosed that all the seizures in the courier houses were made between last Monday and Tuesday in Lagos.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives last Wednesday arrested a wanted drug kingpin Ajiboye Damilare (a.k.a Na God) after 12 months of evading arrest following the raid of his warehouse in Akala, Mushin area of Lagos, where a total of 1,101 kilogrammes of Ghana Loud, a strong strain of cannabis was recovered on 4th September 2023.
He revealed that the arrest of Ajiboye in a bank in Ogun state followed well-coordinated efforts by the agency’s Directorate of Assets and Financial Investigation, which traced 20 bank accounts linked to the suspect and blocked them.
Another NDLEA operatives in Lagos last Friday took into custody a wanted community leader and Sarkin Yamma of Badagry, Alhaji Bashir Talba, following the arrest of his two wives: Hauwa and Asma’u and son, Sadat as well as the seizure of a total of 226.2 kilogrammes cannabis at their homes in Badagry on 18th September.
Babafemi said in another operation in Lagos, no less than 9.7 kilogrammes cannabis sativa and 50 litres of monkey tail, a fermented combo of cannabis and dry gin, were recovered from a suspect Florence Moses at Badore area of Ajah, Lekki last Tuesday.
In Kogi, three suspects: Owolabi Dele, 42; Ayodele Monday, 40; and Olawale Ojo, 22, were arrested by NDLEA operatives along Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway while conveying 132 sacks of cannabis weighing 2,062 kilogrammes in a Mercedes container truck from Osun state to Dei Dei in Abuja.
Another suspect Benedict Simire, 57, was arrested at Ayetoro road, Kabba, conveying 33.4 kilogrammes of same psychoactive substance and a pump action gun with six cartridges last Wednesday.
On the same Wednesday, operatives of the Marine Command of NDLEA intercepted a two 40HP Yamaha engines boat bearing 71 bags of Ghana Loud weighing 2,982 kilogrammes along Alfa beach, Lekki area of Lagos.
Babafemi said men of the Nigerian Customs Service Western Marine Command were on hand to support the NDLEA officers to recover the boat and exhibits after the two suspects in the boat dived into the water.
Also, on Wednesday, NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports complex, Onne, Rivers state intercepted 1,500 cartons of codeine-based cough syrup containing a total of 150,000 bottles during a joint examination of a targeted 40ft container, with men of Nigerian Customs and other security agencies.
NDLEA operatives in Niger state recovered 6,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection from Chukwudi Nwanoche, 38, at the former Minna city gate, their counterparts in Kano arrested Aminu Danmanya, 31, with 15,530 capsules of tramadol at Kano residential hotel, Katsina road.
In Plateau state, operatives last Friday arrested a female suspect Jummai Luka, 58, behind Jehovah Witness junction, Kabong, Jos North local government area in possession of 12,000 pills of tramadol while NDLEA officers in Oyo state last Tuesday nabbed Segun Asogba, 50, with 601 kilogrammes cannabis sativa and a Dane gun at Igangan town.
In Katsina, two ex-convicts: Muhammad Machido, 44, and Zakari Buhari, 32, were again arrested by NDLEA operatives with illicit substances. While Muhammad was nabbed along Kano-Katsina highway, Kankia, last Monday with 51,000 pills of opioids, Zakari was arrested in Daura with 14 blocks of cannabis weighing 7 kilogrammes. Zakari was first arrested on 8th February 2024 and sentenced by court to 15 months’ imprisonment with an option of 15,000 fine, which he paid. In his case, Muhammad was earlier arrested with 45 kilogrammes cannabis sativa and 2.5 kilogrammes tramadol on 12th December 2022. He was then sentenced to two years imprisonment.
In Biase local government area of Cross River state, Benjamin Ebei, 33, was arrested with 38 kilogrammes cannabis recovered from his vehicle, operatives in Edo state on last Tuesday raided a house along Okpuje road, Uzebba in Owan West local government area where they arrested a suspect Idonuan Ajilo, 53, and seized 112.5 kilogrammes cannabis from his store.
The NDLEA commands across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization lectures and advocacy visits to worship centres, schools, workplaces, palaces of traditional rulers and communities all through the past week.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) while commending the officers and men of DOGI, DAFI, MMIA, Onne, Marine, Lagos, Kogi, Katsina, Oyo, Plateau, Niger, Kano, Edo, and Cross River commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, also applauded their compatriots in all the commands across the country for intensifying the WADA sensitization lectures and advocacy messages to every part of their areas of responsibility.
Michael Olugbode
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