The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Egwu Phillip Inya, a suspected drug trafficker posing as a building engineer, while attempting to take delivery of illicit consignments concealed in pressure machines imported from South Africa.
According to a statement by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi on Sunday, the 42-year-old was apprehended on Monday, December 2, 2024, at Okeyson Motor Park in Enugu. Inya had arrived to collect three pressure machines containing parcels of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 7.40 kilograms. The shipment had arrived at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos on November 29, 2024.
Babafemi explained that, based on credible intelligence, NDLEA officers had tracked the shipment through the clearing process and to a logistics company warehouse outside the airport. However, the importer changed the collection point to Enugu at the last minute. NDLEA operatives in Enugu arrested Inya when he attempted to pick up the drugs.
In a separate operation on December 6, 2024, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Hildi-Askira Uba road in Adamawa State discovered 511,000 pills of tramadol hidden in a Siena vehicle. The vehicle’s occupants fled after spotting the NDLEA team and abandoned the vehicle along with the drugs.
Meanwhile, in Ekiti State, two suspects—Olanrewaju Alale, 48, and Babatunde Kayode Ijadahun, 55—were arrested while transporting 1,323 kilograms of cannabis across the Ise-Emure road in a bus. The duo claimed they were moving the consignment from Ondo State to the North for distribution.
On December 6, NDLEA operatives also arrested Adekunle Yusuf, 33, in Oyo State after discovering 704 kilograms of cannabis concealed in white sacks on Idere Road, Igboora.
In Lagos, a 65-year-old grandmother, Ramata Bola Adeyemo, was arrested on December 6 at 62 Odunfa Street, Lagos Island, with 20.6 liters of codeine-based syrup. Alhaji Lawan Manga was also arrested on December 5 at Ogundana Street, Ikeja, with 4.7 kg of cannabis and 1.3 kg of tramadol.
NDLEA commands nationwide have continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative, conducting sensitization lectures in schools, workplaces, and communities. Recent lectures were held at Progressive Secondary School in Oyo State, Muslim Grammar School in Osun State, Government Girls College in Maiduguri, Rivers State’s Community Secondary School, and other locations.
Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), NDLEA Chairman and CEO, commended the agency’s operatives in MMIA, Adamawa, Ekiti, Lagos, and Oyo States for their successful operations. He praised their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and demand reduction efforts, noting their ongoing commitment to combating drug abuse across the country.
