Efforts by drug cartels from Brazil and Canada to bring 126.95 kilograms of cocaine and skunk concealed in herbal tea packs and imported vehicles into Nigeria have again been thwarted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu and the Tincan seaport in Lagos, The PUNCH reports.
At the Enugu airport, an Ethiopian Airline male passenger, Eze Ikenna, 42, coming from Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia was intercepted on arrival at the airport at about 12:30 pm on Friday, January 20. A search of his two bags revealed 19 big sachets which he claimed contained herbal tea but were later found to be cocaine weighing 16.20 kilograms.
The Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr. Femi Babafemi, revealed in a statement obtained by our correspondent on Sunday.
In the same vein, a joint examination carried out on a container marked TCLU 7799237 from Montreal, Canada at Sifax Okota Bonded Terminal by NDLEA operatives attached to Tincan Command of the agency on Wednesday, January 18, led to the discovery of 110.75kgs of cannabis Indica concealed in two of the four vehicles in the container – a 2011 Toyota Sienna and a 2011 Honda Pilot SUV.
Babafemi further noted that deliberate efforts by the agency to cut access to illicit opioids again paid off on Tuesday when a consignment of Tramadol being tracked by NDLEA operatives for some months was eventually traced to a warehouse at Greenfield estate, the Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos.
“When the store was opened, a total of 1,645,560 pills of Tramadol 100mg, 200mg and 225mg were recovered.
Another 60,000 pills of Tramadol 250mg were equally recovered from a wanted drug dealer, Diugwu Alphonsus in the Bariga area of the state on the same day, while raids carried out in the Akala area of Mushin on Wednesday and Friday led to the recovery of 781.7kgs of cannabis.
“In Osun state, NDLEA officers on Friday took into custody a blind 67-year-old grandpa, Aliyu Adebiyi, in whose house they found 234 kilograms of cannabis at Sokoto village, Owena Ijesa, Atakumosa East LGA. In his statement, he said a drug dealer kept the consignment with him for a fee of N6,000 per month and paid for three months upfront,” Babafemi said.
He added that a leper, Haruna Abdullahi, 45, notorious for drug dealing, was arrested at Garko town, Kano on Thursday, while 2.2kgs of cannabis and various quantities of Diazepam and Exol were recovered from him.
According to Babafemi, no less than 370kgs of cannabis were recovered from a sawmill at Ilale, Owo in Ondo State when operatives stormed the industrial plant following credible intelligence.
In Edo State, 261 kilograms of the illicit substance were seized from a suspect, Uche Monday at Uneme-Osu, Ososo Road in the Akoko Edo area of the state with another 74kgs evacuated from a bush at Okpela fertiliser community in Etsako East LGA.
In Abuja, NDLEA operatives on Monday, January 16, raided the Lugbe area of the FCT based on credible intelligence that a dealer was operating in a batcher on the outskirt of the town.
A search of the batcher led to the recovery of 42.9kgs cannabis, 15 grams of cocaine, 137 grams of Methamphetamine, and cash of N2,148,500, believed to be proceeds of the criminal trade.
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