NDLEA Nab Illicit Drug Dealers In Lagos, Abia, Ogun, Kogi, Seme, Borno And Kano

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has reported the arrest of one Ejike Chibuke Solomon, 40, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) in Abuja.

In a statement released on Sunday, the agency said its operatives intercepted Solomon on Saturday, March 2, while he was attempting to board an Ethiopia Airlines flight number 950 to Vietnam via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

During a meticulous search, the officers reportedly discovered 1.45 kilograms of cocaine concealed in his luggage.

The illicit substance was cleverly hidden in his bag.

Ejike, in his statement, claimed that he was embarking on a business trip to Vietnam, Naija News understands.

On Friday, March 1st, a special unit of the NDLEA reportedly conducted another operation targeting a syndicate involved in the illicit trade of methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin.

The operatives successfully apprehended the members of this syndicate who were hiding in various locations across Lagos.

During the operation, the assigned operatives raided the residence of Esimone Amachukwu Christopher located at 14 Arochukwu street, Ejigbo. It was during this raid that they discovered 10.012 kilograms of methamphetamine in the possession of Evelyn Nneka Okem, a 40-year-old associate of Esimone.

However, Esimone himself managed to evade capture and is currently on the run.

“While the Ejigbo operation was going on, another set of officers were simultaneously busy in the residence of another member of the syndicate, 45-year-old Ebele Edwin Iwuegbunam, located at Plot 1604 Close D, 4th Avenue, Festac town, Lagos where they arrested him and recovered 429.5grams of cocaine and 7 kilograms of heroin,” the NDLEA statement noted.

In Kogi state, NDLEA officers conducted a stop and search operation along the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway on Friday 1st March.

They intercepted a commercial bus marked GRM 347XA (Borno) carrying 28 compressed blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 11kg, 100 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup, and 500 tablets of diazepam.

These items were hidden in three plastic drums covered with cattle fats, en route to Jos Plateau state, Naija News learnt.

In Ogun state, on Thursday, 29th February, law enforcement operatives found a 169kg consignment of cannabis abandoned in a truck at Sagamu tollgate. Meanwhile, their colleagues in Lagos seized 25 cartons of tramadol containing 325,000 pills in Ikeja on Wednesday 28th Feb.

On the same day, a suspect named Abdullahi Garba Khalil, 42, was apprehended with 2,745,000 capsules of pregabalin at Singer market, Sabon Gari area of Kano. The Department of State Security, DSS, handed him over to the Kano state command of NDLEA.

Similarly, the 243 Recce Battalion, Nigerian Army, Badagry, on Saturday, 2nd March, transferred 27 sacks of cannabis sativa weighing 1,110kg, which were recovered by soldiers at a coastal community, Ajido, to the Seme Special Area Command of NDLEA.

A suspect named Hassan Muhammad, 34, was arrested on Saturday 2nd March with 44,950 pills of tramadol at Moranti area of Borno state by NDLEA operatives.

In Abia state, on the 28th of February, NDLEA operatives conducted a raid on a drug joint located at Cemetery Barracks in Aba. During the operation, a 37-year-old man named Ifeanyi Uche was apprehended with various quantities of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.

Furthermore, on the 1st of March, another raid was carried out at the abandoned Enyimba Hotel in Ogbor Hill, Aba. This operation resulted in the seizure of illicit substances and the arrest of suspects.

In the past week, the different commands of the Agency across the country continued their efforts in the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign. This included conducting WADA sensitization lectures for students and teachers at Fobin Primary and Secondary School in Idiroko, Seme, Lagos.

Similar campaigns were also conducted at Army Barracks Grammar School in Mokola, Ibadan, Oyo state; State Model Secondary School in Awka, Anambra state; and Government Girls Secondary School in Okumgba-Ama, Ogoloma, Okrika, Rivers state.

Additionally, there was a WADA advocacy campaign held for leaders and residents of the Lapan community in Gombe state, among others.

Reacting, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), expressed his commendation for the exceptional achievements of the officers and men from the NAIA, Abia, Ogun, Kogi, Lagos, Seme, Borno, and Kano Commands of the Agency, as well as those from the Special Unit, during the past week.

He also praised them, along with their counterparts in all the commands across the country, for their intensified efforts in conducting WADA advocacy lectures.