Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced that over 2.3 million tablets of illegal pharmaceutical opioids and other psychoactive drugs intended for distribution in seven northern states—Borno, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Zamfara, Gombe, and Nasarawa—were intercepted in a series of interdiction operations over the course of the past week.
According to a statement released yesterday by the anti-drug agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, the precise number of interceptions was 2,325,553 tablets and capsules of tramadol, hypnox, diazepam, and Exol-5, as well as 7,353 bottles of a brand-new psychoactive substance known locally as Akuskura. The drugs were found in Kaduna, Kogi, Sokoto, and the Federal Capital Territory
In Kaduna, his consignment of 50 cartons of pregabalin 300 mg, containing 750,000 capsules, weighing 375 kilogrammes, which had been earlier seized along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway, was counted and weighed in his presence, according to him. Umar Sanusi, a drug dealer, was arrested on August 12 during a follow-up operation in Kano.
He said that on the same day, agents also seized 7,068 bottles of Akuskura, a brand-new dangerous drug intended for Kaduna, Zamfara, Gombe, Kano, and Borno. He added that the recipients in Kaduna and Zamfara had been detained during follow-up operations.
He added that 285 bottles of the NPS were found the following day, August 13, from a vendor named Abubakar Ahmad along the same roadway.
He claims that on Friday, August 19, along the Okene-Abuja expressway, NDLEA agents seized 696,000 tramadol and Exol-5 tablets, among others, from a truck that was loaded in Onitsha, Anambra state and traveling to Maiduguri, Borno state. On the same day, NDLEA agents also discovered 300,000 diazepam tablets from a suspect, Faruku Bello, 30, in Sokoto State.
According to Babafemi, anti-narcotic agents from the agency in Abuja, FCT, also stopped a bus carrying 323 200 tramadol 225mg tablets and other items at Onitsha, Anambra State, on its way to Nasarawa State over the weekend.
He mentioned that Osita Nwobodo, the 45-year-old driver of the car who attempted in vain to compromise the operatives, is already in arrest.
He added that among those detained by NDLEA agents at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, were Abibu Sola, a significant importer of the Loud strain of cannabis from the United States, and a 63-year-old grandfather who sends illegal drugs to his daughter in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“Abibu was detained in connection with a 19.30 kilogram Colorado shipment from Los Angeles, USA, which was stopped on June 30 at the Lagos airport’s NAHCO cargo import shed. A 37.1 kg consignment of Loud that had been confiscated on July 7th was also traced to Abibu while he was still being questioned in detention.
Meanwhile, a freight agent named Miss Njoko Elizabeth, 37, was detained for trying to use the NAHCO export shed to ship 250 grammes of tramadol and marijuana to Dubai.
Some gallons of palm oil and honey that were stacked with food and hair accessories contained drug evidence.
A cargo of 249,600 tramadol 225mg tablets from India was also found at the Lagos airport’s SAHCO import shed, according to the statement.
Babafemi reported that the shipment, which had arrived from India via Addis Abeba on an Ethiopian Airlines flight on August 4th, was eventually evacuated as an abandoned seizure last Wednesday.
Afolabi Kolawole, a 63-year-old grandpa who was behind a narcotics shipment that was stopped on its way to Dubai on August 4, was detained last Thursday in Ibadan, Oyo state, after more than four arrests finally revealed him.
According to him, Kolawole admitted that he was in charge of hiding the cannabis and packaging it inside the black native soap used as a disguise. He also acknowledged that this was his second attempt to send such an illegal substance to his daughter, Barakat, who lives in Dubai.
Oziegbe Andrew, 55, a passenger traveling from Nigeria to Italy via Casablanca, was detained last Friday while attempting to board a Royal Air Maroc flight. In addition, seven cartons of khat leaf weighing a combined 295 kilograms were also found at the NAHCO import shed of the Lagos airport.
He said, “Egypt Air brought the package into Nigeria from Tanzania.”
According to Babafemi, agents from the NDLEA’s Directorate of Operation and General Investigation (DOGI) working with courier companies seized 11.36 kilograms of heroin and cannabis destined for the UAE, Netherlands, and Omar and hidden inside dictionaries, fancy lights, and body lotion.
The driver, Sani Mohammed, 44, and his assistant, Abubakar Abubakar, 30, were both arrested. He continued: “In Niger state, 139 bags and 176 compressed blocks of cannabis loaded in Ogere, Ogun state and headed to Zaria, Kaduna state were seized by NDLEA operatives along Abuja-Kaduna road, Suleja from a company vehicle.
According to the NDLEA spokesman, raids in the Lagos neighborhood of Akala, Mushin also resulted in the detention of Pelumi Goodness and Ola Funke, as well as the seizure of over 1,171.75 kg of cannabis and 29 liters of codeine syrup.
Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd), Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, was quoted in the statement commending the officers and personnel of the MMIA, Kaduna, Kogi, Sokoto, and FCT Commands as well as DOGI for their efforts in response to the string of arrests and interceptions. However, he asked them to step up their efforts to lower the country’s drug supply and demand, as well as those of their fellow citizens.
