• Intercepts codeine syrup, N2.1b Loud consignments at Lagos, P/H ports
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 70-year-old grandfather, Muhammadu Ibrahim, with 57.2kg of cannabis in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.
He was arrested during a raid on Wednesday, May 29.
Also, a 25-year-old lady, Blessing Thomas, was arrested with 1.0kg of methamphetamine along the Kwali-Gwagwalada expressway, Abuja, during a patrol on Friday, May 31.
The suspect was travelling in a commercial bus from Lagos to Yola, Adamawa State.
Two suspects: Suleiman Kazeem, 35, and Sunday Gbenga, 20, were also arrested when NDLEA officers raided Ara forest, Ara-Ekiti in Ekiti State where they recovered 426kg of Cannabis sativa already processed and packed in big sacks. They also destroyed over 4,000kg of the same substance on 1.66 hectares of farmland on Thursday, May 30.
In Katsina State, 76 blocks of cannabis weighing 42kg were seized from a Nigerien, Suleman Audu, 29, when he was arrested by NDLEA officers along the Zaria-Malumfashi road on Wednesday, May 29.
Also, operatives of the anti-narcotic agency intercepted a large consignment of codeine-based syrup and Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis worth over N2.1 billion in street value at the Port Harcourt seaports, Onne, and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos.
Spokesperson for the agency, Femi Babafemi, who confirmed this in a statement yesterday, said NDLEA officers with the cooperation of other security agencies at the Lagos airport on Friday, May 31, intercepted a large consignment of Loud, packed in eight suitcases, containing 320 parcels. The consignment had a total weight of 164.50kg of the strong psychoactive substance and was coming from Canada on a KLM flight via Amsterdam, Netherlands.
He said the consignment estimated to be worth N960 million, brought in by a passenger, Ughenu Nnaife Francis, was discovered at the E-arrival hall of the airport by personnel of the NDLEA, Customs and others during a joint search operation. The suspect had been attempting to smuggle the suitcases out of the hall.
Preliminary investigation, Babafemi said, revealed that the suspect is a resident of Germany but travelled to Toronto, Canada, to transport the drug to Nigeria. During his interview, he claimed he was recruited as a mule to convey the drug for an agreed fee of N6 million.
At the Port Harcourt ports complex, NDLEA operatives, on Monday, May 27, intercepted a container marked TEMU 6807401 imported from India enroute C to C bonded terminal in Enugu. During a joint examination by NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies, 1,750 cartons of codeine weighing 26,250kg, containing 175,000 bottles of the opioid, and worth N1,225,000,000, in street value were discovered.
