AfriPulse
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a businesswoman and several other suspects while intercepting illicit drug shipments concealed in creative ways, including butt pad underwear, phone chargers, and food items, at Lagos airport and across Nigeria.
This is contained in a statement issued on Sunday via the agency’s X handle by the NDLEA spokesman, Mr. Femi Babafemi.
Mr. Babafemi said on Sunday, September 14, NDLEA operatives, working with FAAN Aviation Security Officers at Murtala Muhammed International Airport’s Terminal 2, apprehended Okolonkwo Ebere Theresa as she attempted to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha, Qatar.
He said a thorough search uncovered 1.40 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in her butt pad underwear.
During a preliminary interview, Theresa stated, “I trade in used clothing and also operate a POS business in Enugu,” revealing she was recruited into the drug trade in her hometown.
The following day, Monday, September 15, NDLEA officers at the NAHCO export shed intercepted 40 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 2.30 kilograms concealed in food items destined for Hong Kong via Turkish Airlines.
According to him, the consignment’s presenter, 59-year-old Umelo Ifeanyi Venatus, was taken into custody. On Thursday, September 18, a courier shipment bound for New Zealand was found to contain 257 grams of cocaine hidden inside seven phone chargers, further showcasing the sophisticated methods used by traffickers.
Beyond Lagos, NDLEA operations yielded significant results across multiple states. In Adamawa, three raids led to the seizure of 233,800 tramadol pills. On Wednesday, September 17, operatives recovered 195,600 pills from an abandoned Toyota Sienna vehicle in Mayo Belwa, Yola South. In a separate raid in Jambutu, Jimeta Yola, Rita Zira was arrested with 27,900 tramadol pills hidden in her bedroom. On Saturday, September 20, 22-year-old Halilu Abubakar was nabbed with 10,300 pills at Namtari checkpoint, Yola.
In Zamfara, NDLEA operatives, supported by Community Protection Guards, seized 109 bags of skunk weighing 1,099.4 kilograms from 40-year-old Hammed Danladi Aliyu on Saturday, September 20. The suspect was caught transporting the consignment in a Mitsubishi Canter truck along Gummi-Daki Takwas road to a village in Gummi LGA.
In Yobe, NDLEA arrested Babangida Usman and Ismail Ibrahim along Damaturu-Potiskum road with 14,000 tramadol capsules. In Taraba, 28-year-old Anas Hamisu was apprehended on Wednesday, September 17, with 25.525 kilograms of skunk in three sacks at Garba-Chede, Bali LGA.
In Edo, NDLEA officers destroyed two cannabis farms spanning 4.532025 hectares in Atororo forest, Owan West LGA, on Wednesday, September 17. The farms had an estimated yield of 11,330.0625 kilograms. Eleven bags of processed skunk and seeds weighing 148 kilograms were recovered, and three suspects—Mathew Onoja, 56; Moses Thomas Male, 18; and Friday Uchenjin, 38—were arrested at the site.
The NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, conducting sensitization lectures at schools and communities, including Sultan Abdulrahman College of Health Technology in Sokoto, Sarki Abdul Primary School in Katsina, Government Secondary School in Jigawa, St. Mary Junior Secondary School in Benue, and Ummulkhair Islamiyya in Kano. The Agency’s Zone 11 Command also paid a WADA advocacy visit to Enugu State First Lady, Mrs. Nkechinyere Mbah.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the operations, stating, “These arrests and seizures represent a significant milestone in our determined effort to dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating in Nigeria and around the world, prioritizing those bent on targeting our productive youth population with illicit substances.”
He urged officers to sustain the Agency’s balanced approach to drug control efforts.
Source: NationalAccordNewspaper | Read the Full Story…
