The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted over 1.3 million pills of tramadol and other opioids, plus about 6,000 kilograms of cannabis worth over N3.4 billion, in sweeping operations across eight states and the FCT.
The operations covered Lagos, Edo, Niger, Delta, Ondo, Gombe, Imo and the Federal Capital Territory, leading to the arrest of a fake police officer, a mechanic drug dealer and teenagers with rifles.
NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, September 21.
The biggest seizure was at Tin-Can Island Port, Lagos. NDLEA operatives placed a 40-foot container shipped from Montreal, Canada, which arrived September 12, under surveillance. During a joint examination with Customs and other agencies on September 16, they found 1,200 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 603.75kg valued at N1.811 billion, concealed in 31 jumbo bags inside two Toyota Sienna buses.
In Delta, 49 year old Innocent Ekpe was arrested on September 16 along the Benin-Onitsha Expressway in Asaba with 292.48kg of skunk hidden in a silver Toyota Sienna. Investigation showed Ekpe had been parading as Godwin Emeka, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), using a forged police ID card to evade checkpoints while moving drugs. His accomplice, 39 year old Nduka Joseph, was also arrested.
In Edo, operatives stormed an auto-repair workshop on Agbor Road, Benin City, and arrested 45 year old Matthew Ossai who used the shop as a drug warehouse. 48kg of Canadian Loud and 152 grams of methamphetamine were recovered.
In Niger State, three suspects, Bashir Usman (20), Abubakar Nuhu (18) and Abdulrahman Abdulwahab (18), were arrested on September 15 at Chachi, Tafa LGA on the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway with two locally fabricated AK-47 rifles with a magazine, a locally made pistol and nine rounds of 9mm ammunition hidden in a travel bag.
Along the FCT/Nasarawa axis, Aminu Isyaku (23) and Jamilu Habibu (25) were arrested September 18 on the Abaji-Abuja Highway with over 1.1 million tramadol tablets and capsules, codeine syrup, meth and Exol in eight sacks, heading from Onitsha to Mararaba.
Other seizures included 5,980kg of skunk from farms in Uso, Ondo State and Edo forest reserves.
Chairman/CEO of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the operatives for the breakthroughs.
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