By Kamsi Anayo
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 40-year-old ‘businessman’, Sherif Egbo Ally, at Abuja Airport while attempting to smuggle illicit drugs to France.
The Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA headquarters, Femi Babafemi said in a statement on Sunday that the l businessman was arrested on Oct. 14, while boarding an Air France flight to Paris, France after they discovered he ingested illicit drugs.
Body scanner revealed he had wraps of illicit drugs in his stomach and was subsequently placed under observation at the Agency’s exhibit recovery room where he excreted 93 pellets of heroin weighing 2.222 kilograms.
In his statement, the suspect claimed he works at a chicken hatchery farm in Madrid, Spain and also into drug trafficking business
The NDLEA also said its operatives at the NAHCO imports shed of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos on Oct. 16, seized a consignment of 10 cartons containing 500,000 pills of tramadol 225mg branded as tapentadol.
The cargo, which was shipped from India through Qatar Airways with airwaybill number MAWB 319-01227236 was purported to be a transit cargo to Monrovia, Liberia.
However, the lid was blown open through partnership and real time intelligence sharing mechanisms between NDLEA and its Liberian counterpart.
THE NDLEA also said it had arrested an intending passenger to Musacat, Oman, Ngene Chinecherem Oscar, while boarding a Qatar airways with 11.100 kgs of skunk and 600 grams of tramadol concealed in foodstuffs through the Lagos airport.
In another operation, NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI) attached to courier companies on Oct. 15, intercepted 1kg methamphetamine concealed in containers of body cream going to New Zealand as well as another consignment of 2.5kgs cocaine and phenacetin hidden in walls of a carton heading to Saudi Arabia.
Two more seizures, 112grams of Dimethyl Sulfone and 583grams of Cocaine and phenacetin, were made at another courier company in Lagos on Oct. 18. While the Dimethyl Sulfone was concealed in the hollow of a motor driving shaft going to New Zealand, the consignment of Cocaine and phenacetin was packed into a bottle of body cream heading to Saudi Arabia.
In Imo state, operatives on Oct. 15, intercepted a Mercedes Benz container truck marked ABN 418 YN parked in an isolated area along Owerri – Onitsha expressway. A search of the abandoned truck led to the recovery of 168 bags of skunk weighing 1, 854 kilograms.
Not less than 1,381.3kgs of the same substance were seized in four interdiction operations in parts of Edo state including: Ekpon community, Igueben LGA; Iguiye forest in Ovia North East LGA; Iruekpen, Ndokwa West where a suspect, Monday Samuel Nwocha was arrested and Egwalor village in Onwude LGA where the duo of Obune Prince and Chika Obi was arrested and their Audi 80 salon car marked BEN 406 CL loaded with cannabis sativa, recovered.
In Kano state, an ex-convict, Aminu Suleiman, 46, was arrested along with Haruna Abdurrahaman, 41, and Ojo Joseph Esezobor, 34, at Gadar Tamburawa area of the state on Oct.14 while 106kgs of cannabis were recovered from them.
Aminu was first arrested with 22kgs of cannabis on June 3, 2022 and convicted by the court on Nov. 24, 2022.
Four other suspects: Inusa Fugu Ali, Yahaya Musa, Abba Audu, Ali Abubakar, and Bunu Kyari were also arrested at Gadar Tamburawa area of Kano on Oct.16 for dealing in 75.3kgs of skunk.
Operatives of the Zone J Command of the Agency seized 478kgs of cannabis in a forest in Ikere Ekiti on Oct. 20, those of Ondo state command recovered a total of 928kgs of the same substance in a bush by Shagari market, along Ifon-Owo express road, and Ibola camp, Ipele forest.
In Borno state, a suspect, Sani Mohammed, 31, was arrested on Oct. 21 with 182kgs of cannabis at Njimtilo, along Maiduguri – Damaturu road.
