The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted over 24, 311 kilograms of heroin, codeine, Arizona, and Colorado variants of cannabis in fresh drug busts at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, and the Tincan seaport, Apapa, Lagos state.
The Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
He said the first seizure was on Friday, September 3, at the SAHCO export shed of the MMIA where two consignments containing 10.350kg heroin and 25.2kg cannabis from South Africa were intercepted.
In series of sting operations between September 4 and 6, in different parts of Lagos, four suspects were arrested including Mrs. Bello Kafayat Ayo who was picked from Shino Street, in the Palmgroove area of the state.
At the Tincan seaport, Apapa, narcotic officers intercepted a 40ft container loaded with 22,590 kilograms of Barcadin Codeine syrup on Monday, September 6, following intelligence received from international partners on the container since May 2021.
“The container was also found to include 4,020.03kg of analgesic tablets and 47 cartons of insulated hot pots used to conceal the illicit drugs, all imported from India. Equally, on Friday, September 10, a consignment of Colorado weighing 17.5kg and hidden inside a Grand Caravan Dodge vehicle shipped in a 40ft container from Montreal, Canada, was also intercepted and seized at the Tincan port,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, a 20-year-old identified as Bee Okoro has been arrested in Abuja for producing and selling drugged candies and cookies.
A 27-year-old dispatch rider, Idewo Raimi who handles door-to-door delivery for her was also arrested.
The suspects who were arrested at the Garki Area 11 on Friday, September 10, with a number of their drugged products and 400grams of Loud and Arizona, confessed they have been in the business for over a year.
In Edo State, a total of 1,425.2 kilograms of compressed blocks of cannabis sativa were seized in a raid on Aviosi outskirt, close to Uzebba, Owan West LGA, on Monday, September 6, while on the same day one Yahaya Mamman was nabbed along the Zaria-Danja road, Kaduna with 10.3kg Tramadol and 60.5kg Exol-6.
The previous day, Thursday, September 5, one Thank God Danladi was arrested at Tudun Wada area of Jalingo, the Taraba State capital with 44.2kg of cannabis.
In the same vein, NDLEA operatives in Kwara State on Tuesday, September 7 arrested a 36-year-old lady, Yusuf Sherifat, who recently completed a jail sentence following her conviction by a Federal High Court in Ilorin for dealing in 22 grams of crack cocaine.
Her latest arrest along Specialist Hospital Road, Alagbado, Ilorin, followed intelligence that she has resumed the sale of crack cocaine in the Ilorin metropolis.
“This time around, she devised another means of delivering drugs along the road to known customers who contact her via telephone calls,” the agency said.
In Gombe, raids across the state between September 1 and 10 led to the arrest of at least nine drug dealers, from who assorted illicit drugs weighing over 150kg were recovered.
One of the raids led to the interception of a truck loaded with 128KG of psychotropic substances coming from Onitsha, Anambra State along the Gombe-Yola road.
Reacting to the latest drug busts at the Lagos airport, Tincan seaport, and across the FCT, Edo, Kaduna, Taraba, Kwara, and Gombe states, Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the commanders, officers, and men of the commands for their resilience and bravery.
He said the series of arrests and seizures across the country further affirm NDLEA’s zero tolerance for production, trafficking, and abuse of any illicit substance, warning that drug dealers who are yet to have a change of heart must be ready to contend with the new NDLEA.
