A 62-year-old Lagos-based businessman has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) in Kano for attempting to smuggle cocaine to China.
The agency disclosed the arrest in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi. According to the NDLEA, the suspect was apprehended on Saturday during the outward clearance of passengers travelling to China via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940.
A body scan conducted by NDLEA officers revealed that he had ingested illicit drugs. He was placed under medical observation, during which he expelled a total of 95 jumbo-sized wraps of cocaine, weighing 1.589 kilograms, in seven excretions.
The suspect, who said he is involved in the clothing and auto spare parts business in Lagos, told investigators that he turned to drug trafficking to raise funds to complete a house he is building in his village, Iwollo, Enugu State.
In separate operations across the country, NDLEA operatives recorded several major seizures and arrests. In the Federal Capital Territory, officers recovered 627.7 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, from a makeshift warehouse at Fums Plaza, Kubwa. An attempt to smuggle methamphetamine concealed in MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna was foiled on Friday, February 6, when the consignments were intercepted on a commercial bus.
A follow-up operation in Zuba, FCT, led to the arrest of Ebube Okeke, the owner of one of the parcels containing 173 grams of methamphetamine. Evans Ugwu, Mohammed Eze Arinze, and Friday Michael were also arrested on Saturday, February 7, in Kaduna as they arrived to collect a second consignment weighing 28 grams.
In Taraba State, NDLEA officers at the Dan-Anacha patrol point in Gassol Local Government Area intercepted 32-year-old Yusuf Abubakar on Friday, February 7. He was found transporting packs of Hollandia yoghurt from Lagos to Mubi, Adamawa State, some of which concealed 1.8 kilograms of methamphetamine.
In Oyo State, a 29-year-old Beninoise, Shuaibu Abdulrahman, was arrested on Thursday, February 5, at Ibudo-Igboho village, Sooro Kishi, with 149.6 kilograms of skunk hidden in rice shafts. Separately, Adeniyi Adeola, also known as Prince, was arrested in Ibadan at Foko, Agbeni Market on Wednesday, February 4, after officers recovered 10,820 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 117,820 capsules of tramadol from his truck.
Also in Ibadan, suspected drug kingpin Jimoh Nurudeen, 40, and his accomplice Ogundipe Yusuf, 27, were arrested on Saturday, February 7, in the Badeku area. Authorities recovered eight litres of precursor chemicals, 14 grams of skunk, drug production paraphernalia, ₦7,408,400 in cash, and two vehicles, a Mercedes-Benz SUV (ABC 832 AZ) and a Toyota Highlander (RBC 243 BS).
In Kwara State, operatives intercepted a fuel tanker transporting petrol from Lagos to Maiduguri on Saturday, February 7, and recovered 395,400 tramadol capsules concealed within the truck. The driver was taken into custody.
In Imo State, a couple, Izuchukwu Azubuike, 37, and Ifunaya Mmadueke, 32, were arrested at Umuaka, Njaba Local Government Area, with 203 kilograms of skunk. In Ondo State, officers recovered 420 kilograms of skunk from a bush at Ikun Akoko on Friday, February 6.
In Lagos, the NDLEA Marine Command seized 31 wraps of cocaine hidden in a handbag from Eze Nodebechi Austin upon his arrival from Côte d’Ivoire by boat at Yekeme, Badagry, on Friday, February 6. Another suspect, Adekunle Oluwatosin Olajide, was arrested on Lagos Island on Wednesday, February 4, with 3.6 kilograms of Canadian Loud and Colorado cannabis.
In Enugu State, operatives arrested 37-year-old Emeka Okeke at his hideout on Akuruka Street, Asata. Authorities recovered various quantities of skunk, methamphetamine, cocaine, and molly, as well as ₦457,700 in cash.
