The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted consignments of synthetic cannabis, opioids and other illicit drugs concealed in consolidated cargoes, music speakers and loaves of bread in operations across several states.
The agency said on Sunday that its operatives intercepted two consignments of synthetic cannabis, popularly known as Colorado or Colos, from the United Kingdom, while two other consignments concealed in music speakers were recovered from motor parks in Lagos.
At least seven suspects linked to the seized consignments were arrested during the operations, according to the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi.
At the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, operatives intercepted a UK-bound consolidated cargo containing 27 parcels of Colorado weighing 32.20kg.
Babafemi said a real estate agent, Abideen Jide Salami, was arrested on Wednesday, September 9, after allegedly arriving to collect a large luggage containing the illicit substance using a secret collection code relayed by his brother in the UK.
A follow-up operation linked to a second UK consignment led to the arrest of Nurudeen Abiodun Kadiri, 44, who was designated to receive another 12.25kg consignment of Colorado.
According to the agency, Kadiri told investigators that his brother in the UK had sent him the consignment.
In another operation, operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation intercepted a music speaker rigged with three packs of Colorado at a motor park in Maza-Maza, Lagos.
The consignment was reportedly destined for Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and ultimately Liberia.
A tour agent, Ifeanyi Augustine, 41, and the owner of the consignment, Obasi Ugochuckwu, 46, were arrested during a sting operation at a nearby eatery.
At Iddo motor park, Lagos, another suspect, Ifeanyi Nwokolo Henry, was arrested on Friday, September 11, while allegedly attempting to dispatch 2.1kg of Colorado to Kano.
Babafemi said significant drug seizures were also recorded in Delta State, where separate operations in Ughelli and Asaba led to the recovery of ampoules of pentazocine injection, codeine syrup, tramadol, diazepam, flunitrazepam, also known as Hypnox, and MDMA, popularly called Molly.
Several of the drugs were concealed in music speakers. Two suspects, Emeka Oji and Chukwuebuka Anedi, were arrested in connection with the seizures.
In Kano State, NDLEA operatives raided a location in Sabon Gari and arrested 20-year-old Saidu Adamu with 785,000 capsules of pregabalin weighing 669.425kg.
In a separate stop-and-search operation along the Zaria-Kano-Hadejia Road, operatives seized 1,700 tablets of diazepam concealed inside loaves of bread. The drugs were allegedly being conveyed by a 28-year-old suspect, Habibu Sabitu.
In Plateau State, a 51-year-old man, Chinedu Uzor, was arrested at Katako Market, Jos, with 157,100 capsules of tramadol.
The agency also intensified its campaign against illicit cannabis cultivation, destroying 4,832.56kg of skunk on cannabis farms in Usen Forest, Igwe-Oke Forest and Ogboha Forest in the Ovia South-West, Owan East and Owan West Local Government Areas of Edo State.
A 39-year-old suspect, Sunday Segun, was arrested during the operation on Friday, September 11.
In Ondo State, NDLEA officers acting on intelligence raided a residence along Oke-Iya, Ijoka Road, Akure, on Wednesday, September 9, and recovered 186kg of skunk concealed in the boot of a Toyota Avalon marked ABJ 917 FV.
The agency said the drugs were recovered from 58-year-old Paul Ogbuwala, who was allegedly planning to transport the consignment to Jos for onward distribution.
In Kaduna State, a female suspect, Hannah Michael, was arrested at Gonin Gora with 369.6kg of cannabis.
Meanwhile, four suspects, including 70-year-old Godwoman Gboriye, were arrested at Ovom, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, with 110 bags of cannabis weighing 876kg.
The other suspects were identified as Motombo Silver, 44; Pere Andrew, 39; and Keme Andrew, 43.
Commending the officers and men involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
Marwa charged the operatives to “continue to shut every pipeline being used by drug cartels,” whether through airports, seaports, land borders or the hinterland where cannabis is cultivated.
He also commended the DOGI, MMIA, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Kaduna, Plateau, Bayelsa and Kano Commands for the successful operations.
