National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has made four seizures of crystal methamphetamine, popularly known as Mkpuru Mmiri weighing 4.074 kilogrammes going to Australia, Indonesia and Philippines with a 3-kilogramme cannabis sativa heading to Dubai, United Arab Emirates at some courier companies in Lagos State, South-West Nigeria.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi says that, the consignments were concealed in body cream, hot burner iron and beads.
This is coming as a suspected trans-border drug dealer, Pastor Anietie Okon Effiong was arrested by NDLEA operatives with three drums of Mkpuru Mmiri, imported from India for onward delivery to the Republic of Cameroon.
Babafemi says, the consignment weighing 90 kilogrammes and loaded into a commercial bus with registration number RSH 691XC at Ojuelegba in Lagos State was intercepted during a stop and search operation along Umuahia – Ikot Ekpene Highway on Saturday, August 6, 2022.
The dangerous drug packed 30 kilogrammes in each drum was allegedly meant for Pastor Anietie Okon Effiong, who was arrested in a follow up operation at Oron beach in Oron, Akwa Ibom State, South-South Nigeria.
And in Sokoto State, North-West Nigeria, a 90-year-old retired soldier, Usman Adamu was arrested on Wednesday, August 3 in Mailalle, Sabon Birni LGA for supplying bandits with illicit drugs. At the time of his arrest, the suspect was in possession of 5.1 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, in Lagos, a 37-year-old indigene of Ovia LGA, Edo State and resident in Italy, Solo Osamede has been arrested for ingesting 41 wraps of heroin. He was nabbed and taken into custody for excretion while attempting to board a Turkish Airline flight to Milan, Italy via Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday, July 30. The swallowed wraps of the illicit drug were recovered in four excretions, which the suspect completed on Monday, August 1.
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Similarly, a female passenger, Jatau Lydia Lami was arrested at the Lagos airport for attempting to export 1,700 tablets of Tramadol 225 milligrams concealed in her luggage to Istanbul, Turkey via a Turkish Airline flight on Sunday, July 31.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect, a mother of three, hails from Zango Kataf LGA of Kaduna State and lives in Istanbul, Turkey with her family. She blamed her action on pressure to raise N5 million ransom to free her mother from the captivity of bandits who abducted her since June.
Also at the SAHCO export shed of the airport, attempts by some freight agents to export two consignments of cannabis in a consolidated cargo to Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Thursday, August 4 were thwarted by NDLEA operatives who have arrested two of them in follow up operations. They are Oladipupo Oladapo Fatai and Animashaun Qudus, while two others are still at large.
In Zamfara State, North-West Nigeria, NDLEA operatives on Thursday, August 4 intercepted a truck from Benin, Edo State, South-South Nigeria enroute Sokoto with 50,000 tablets of Diazepam owned by a drug dealer, Umaru Attahiru.
In Kogi State, North-Central Nigeria, 14 sacks containing 1,376 bottles of codeine based syrup weighing 190.4 kilogrammes were seized along Okene-Abuja Highway on Wednesday, August 3. The exhibits were found in a delivery bus coming from Onitsha, Anambra State, South-East Nigeria and heading to Abuja. Follow up operation in Abuja same day led to the arrest of Jude Ikenna and Ozoemene Cornelius.
In Kaduna State, four suspects, namely Sulaiman Rabi’u; Sanusi Sha’aibu; Ma’aruf Habibu and Christian Nnachor, were arrested in Zaria, Tafa and Romi Kaduna with 106, 770 tablets of Tramadol 225mg, Diazepam, Exol-5 and 100 bottles of codeine cough syrup.
In Enugu State, South-East Nigeria, 143.5 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa were recovered from locked up stores in New Market area of the state capital on Saturday August 6, while in Delta State, South-South Nigeria, a suspect, Ike Okparachi, 42, was arrested at Abraka Junction, in Asaba with 10,550 tablets of Tramadol 225mg; Swinol; Rohypnol; and 3,105 bottles of codeine syrup as well as 69grams of Molly.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
