The Chairman and Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), has directed that an alleged pregnant drug trafficker arrested in Rivers State be granted administrative bail pending when she’s delivered of her baby and thereafter return for her prosecution.
Marwa explained that she was granted because at the time of her arrest, she was in her ninth month of pregnancy.
Kate Ibinabo, was arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in Rivers State on Saturday 3rd December.
The 29-year-old pregnant woman, Kate Ibinabo was arrested with 34.4kgs cannabis sativa in Okrika area of the state.
She was arrested along with other traffickers of illicit drugs during weeks of cleaning and mopping up illicit drugs in five States and Abuja.
The raid was carried out across five States and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The agency said that a grandmother, Mrs. Ibinosun Sandra Esther, 60, was arrested in Ibadan, Oyo State in a follow up operation following the seizure of 5.5kg Loud variant of cannabis imported into the country from South Africa.
It said that she was arrested during interdiction operations in which 5,527.15 kilograms of methamphetamine and cannabis sativa, as well as 132,090 tablets of tramadol and 2,000 bottles of codeine were recovered by operatives.
She claimed that her daughter sent the consignment which was concealed in two giant Speakers as part of a consolidated cargo that arrived the NAHCO import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos on board an Airpeace Airline flight.
Director, Media and Advocacy,
NDLEA, Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday in a statement said the NDLEA operatives in another operation on Saturday 26th November intercepted 1.4 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed inside custard tins packed among cosmetics and foodstuffs.
He said the wares were headed to Brazil via Doha on a Qatar Airways flight.
According to him, a cargo agent, Salako Omolara Fausat, who took the bag containing the illicit drug to the airport for an intending passenger to Brazil, Anyanwu Christian, who was to travel with the consignment were promptly arrested.
Babafemi stated that another attempt by a freight agent, Adebisi Aina Hafsat to export 3,000 tablets of tramadol concealed in motor spare parts to Banjul, Gambia through the NAHCO export shed was equally thwarted by operatives who seized the consignment and arrested her.
She was picked up by the operatives on Monday 28th Nov, while a follow up operation to Ebute-Meta area of Lagos the next day, Tuesday 29th November, led to the arrest of the actual owner, Afam Chibuke Stanley, an alleged spare parts dealer.
According to Babafemi, the raid on Stanley, was followed by the seizure of 100,000 tablets of Royal brand of Tramadol 200mg with a gross weight of 68.90 kilograms imported from Karachi, Pakistan on Ethiopian Airlines at the SAHCO import shed.
He disçlosed that in Abuja, operatives invaded a warehouse of a notorious drug lord and an ex-convict, one Ibrahim Momoh, alias ‘Ibrahim Bendel’.
He stated that agency recovered 81 jumbo bags of cannabis weighing 1,278kgs from Ibrahim who escaped from prison custody to return to his criminal trade
“Though the fleeing drug dealer is still at large and is wanted by the Agency, his warehouse keeper, 55-year-old Ghanaian, Richard Forson Gordon was arrested.
“Ibrahim Momoh was first arrested on 27th November, 2014 with the same substance weighing 385.1kgs, prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on 22nd of April, 2020 but escaped from jail after three months.
“Meanwhile, no fewer than 2,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup were seized in a commercial bus by operatives on Friday 2nd December along Lokoja – Abuja expressway
“In Ondo state, 241 bags of the psychoactive substance with a gross weight of 3,133kg were recovered from a building at Ilale Cashew, Ehinogbe, Owo, on Tuesday 29th Nov.
“At least, 507.9kgs of cannabis were also seized during a raid at the hideout of a fleeing drug dealer in Mushin area of Lagos on Thursday 1st Dec.
“In Cross River, 53 jumbo bags of C/S weighing 567.05kgs were seized from three suspects: Bassey Boniface Eyibio, 38; Effiong Akiba Etim, 30 and Ngbong Raymond, 45 at Mpara junction, Odukpani LGA on Thursday 1st Dec while conveying the consignment in a bus marked CKK 74 AA.
“Operatives equally arrested another suspect, Ali Mohammed along Potiskum- Damaturu road after they found 29,090 tablets of tramadol in his personal Honda car marked ABC 914 RW coming from Gombe to Damaturu, Yobe state.
“While commending the officers and men of the MMIA, Rivers, Ondo, Lagos, Cross River and Yobe Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Gen. Marwa charged them and their counterparts across other formations to continue to step up their offensives against drug cartels.”
