An online drug trafficking cartel selling drugged cookies, cakes, brownies, and various illicit substances to residents of Abuja and its environs has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency this weekend.
The five man gang of suspected drug dealers were arrested during sting operations carried out between Friday 7th May and Saturday 8th May, 2021 by officers of the FCT Command of the Agency during which different brands of illicit drugs were recovered from them.
According to the NDLEA Spokesperson Femi Babafemi in a statement, the suspects include Queen Nvene, Collins Ozoemena, Samson Peter, Chika Nvene, and Habila Musa.
Femi stated that the group specializes in clandestine production of drug laced cookies, brownies and other edibles.
The group supplies the unhealthy snacks in various markets and online, through their Twitter and Instagram handles.
They also market and sell all types of marijuana; Arizona, Colorado and Loud, among other illicit drugs, online.
While Queen Nvene, a graduate of Business Administration, produces drug cookies and brownies and sells same on Instagram, Collins Ozoemena sells all types of illicit drugs, especially Loud and Skunk online.
Samson Peter on the other hand, is the manager of SK express courier company, who manages motorcycles and dispatch riders to deliver illicit drugs from Collins and drugged edibles (cookies, cakes and brownies) from Queen and Chika, both sisters.
Also Read : NDLEA intercepts 23 year old man with 59 wraps of heroin at Abuja Airport
Members of the cartel operate from different locations within the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, but operate as a network.
Their arrest followed online orders of drug-based edibles by undercover agents.
Supplies of brownies and cookies were delivered and received from different SK Express dispatch riders at various times by narcotic operatives before the final sting operation of their various locations in Gudu, Kubwa, Lokogoma, Apo and Damangazo all in Abuja, led to the seizure of some illicit substances.
Seized from Queen include; 55 pieces of drugged cookies and brownies; 1.3 kilogrammes of skunk used as ingredient for making cookies and brownies, while 0.9 grammes of ecstasy, popularly called molley, 300 grammes of skunk, and 200 grammes of Loud were recovered from Collins.
Also, 300 grammes of skunk were seized from Chika.
Other items recovered from the syndicate include: a dispatch motorcycle, various equipment for producing cookies and brownies, 10 telephone handsets and two laptops used for online drug trafficking transactions.
Under interrogation, the suspects confessed to have a large platform of customers who order for drugs and drug based cookies, brownies and edibles, on daily basis for parties and ceremonies, in and outside Abuja.
Also Read : NDLEA raises alarm over sale of drug-laced snacks in Bayelsa State
The suspects confessed to using the manager of SK Express courier company to deliver their products through motorcycle riders and power bikers popularly called droppers and have been in the business for over three years.
In Ondo state the agency has intercepted 60kilogrammes of cannabis following intelligence.
In the process, a 29-year-old Emmanuel Utaji was arrested at the location on Matado street, Akure, Akure South local government area.
Acting Commander of the Agency in the state, Callys Alumona disclosed that the location was raided at about 9:45pm and the suspect arrested when the consignment was to be evacuated and taken outside the state.
In the same vein, a drug dealer and suspected armed robber, Sanusi Abdullahi has been arrested by officers of the Rivers state Command at Iroko village, where 15.8 kilogrammes of skunk and 16 sim cards were recovered from him on Saturday. The state Commander, Rachael Shelleng, stated that further investigation would unravel other criminal activities perpetrated by the suspect.
( Editor : Omor Bazuaye)
