Large consignments of opioids concealed beneath building materials have been intercepted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in a series of coordinated operations across the country, leading to the arrest of a 75-year-old suspect in Ebonyi State and several alleged traffickers in Edo, Imo, Kano and Gombe States.
In a statement this Sunday, NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said the seizures were part of ongoing nationwide offensives targeting drug trafficking networks and illicit distribution channels.
The agency recorded one of its biggest interceptions in Taraba State on Saturday, June 6, after operatives acting on intelligence intercepted a truck conveying building materials from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Jalingo. A search conducted at Nukkai Timber Shade in Jalingo uncovered 320,840 capsules of tramadol, 600 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 4,500 rohypnol tablets and 299 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup concealed beneath the cargo. A 22-year-old suspect, Buhari Abdullahi, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
In Ebonyi State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 75-year-old suspect, Okebe Samuel, at Okposi, where he was allegedly found with 300 grams of skunk packaged in retail sachets. The agency said the suspect had been supplying the substance to youths within the community.
Also in Imo State, operatives raided a drug enclave at Umulolo in Orlu, arresting a 32-year-old female suspect, Chioma Okeke, while recovering eight kilograms of skunk.
A separate operation in Edo State led to the arrest of four suspected traffickers during raids on identified drug hotspots across Benin City. At Uyosa, two female suspects, Chioma Igba, 24, and Precious Ozomah, 22, were arrested with skunk, Loud and methamphetamine. Another female suspect, Anita Abraham, 21, was apprehended along Agbor Road with quantities of Scottish Loud and regular Loud, while a male suspect, Henry Okey, 43, was arrested at Upper Mission with assorted psychotropic substances including Loud, Colorado, Swinol and methamphetamine.
Similarly in Kano State, NDLEA operatives on Thursday, June 4, arrested a 19-year-old suspect, Saifullahi Lawan, at Kafi area of Madobi with 40 blocks of skunk weighing 38 kilograms.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Gombe State intercepted 28-year-old Ugwu Sabastine Ifebuchi near Dantiti Plaza in the Tumfure area of the state with 15,000 capsules of tramadol.
(Editor: Nkoli Omhoudu)
