The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized over 24, 311 kilograms of heroin and codeine as well as the Arizona and Colorado variants of cannabis in fresh drug busts at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, (MMIA), Ikeja and the Tincan Seaport, Apapa, Lagos state.
Spokesperson of the agency, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, said the first seizure was on Friday 3rd September, 2021 at the SAHCO export shed of the MMIA where two consignments containing 10.350kg heroin and 25.2kg cannabis from South Africa were intercepted.
He added that in a series of sting operations between Saturday 4th September and Monday 6th September in different parts of Lagos, four suspects were arrested including Mrs. Bello Kafayat Ayo, who was picked up at Shylon Street, Palmgroove area of the State.
Babafemi said at the Tincan Seaport, Apapa, narcotic officers intercepted a 40-foot container loaded with 22,590 kilograms of Barcadin Codeine syrup on Monday following intelligence received from international partners on the container since May 2021.
He said the container also contained 4,020.03kg of analgesic tablets and 47 cartons of insulated hot pots used to conceal the illicit drugs, all imported from India.
According to the statement, on Friday 10th September, a consignment of Colorado weighing 17.5kg and hidden inside a Grand Caravan Dodge vehicle shipped in a 40ft container from Montreal, Canada, was also intercepted and seized at the Tincan port.
The statement also revealed that a 20-year-old graduate, Miss Bee Okoro, was arrested in Abuja for producing and selling drugged candies and cookies.
A 27-year-old dispatch rider, Idewo Raimi who handles door-to-door delivery for her was also arrested.
It reads: “The suspects who were arrested at Garki Area 11 on Friday 10th Sept, with a number of their drugged products and 400grams of Loud and Arizona, confessed they have been in the drug business for over a year.
“In Edo state, a total of 1,425.2 kilograms of compressed blocks of cannabis sativa were seized in a raid on Aviosi outskirt, close to Uzebba, Owan west LGA, on Monday 6th Sept, while on the same day one Yahaya Mamman was nabbed along Zaria-Danja road, Kaduna with 10.3kg Tramadol and 60.5kg Exol-6. The previous day, Thursday 5th Sept, one ThankGod Danladi was arrested at Tudun Wada area of Jalingo, the Taraba state capital with 44.2kg of cannabis.
“In the same vein, NDLEA operatives in Kwara state on Tuesday 7th Sept, arrested a 36-year-old lady, Yusuf Sherifat who recently completed a jail sentence following her conviction by a Federal High Court in Ilorin for dealing in 22 grams of crack cocaine. Her latest arrest along Specialist Hospital Road, Alagbado, Ilorin, followed intelligence that she has resumed sale of crack cocaine in Ilorin metropolis. This time around, she devised another means of delivering drugs along the road to known customers who contact her via telephone calls.
“In Gombe state, raids across the state between Wednesday 1st Sept and Friday 10th Sept led to the arrest of at least nine drug dealers from who assorted illicit drugs weighing over 150kg were recovered. One of such was the interception of a DAF truck loaded with 128kg of psychotropic substances coming from Onitsha, Anambra state along Gombe-Yola road.
“In his reaction to the latest drug busts at the Lagos airport, Tincan seaport and across the FCT, Edo, Kaduna, Taraba, Kwara and Gombe states, Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the commanders, officers and men of the commands for their resilience and bravery. He said the series of arrests and seizures across the country further affirm NDLEA’s zero tolerance for production, trafficking and abuse of any illicit substance, warning that drug dealers who are yet to have a change of heart must be ready to contend with the new NDLEA.”
