The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two Nigerians residing in Europe after they allegedly ingested 200 wraps of cocaine weighing 3.46 kilogrammes while attempting to travel from Abuja to Paris, France.
The suspects were intercepted on Wednesday, October 28, during the outward clearance of an Air France flight, AF 832, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, both suspects tested positive for drug ingestion during body scans and subsequently excreted all the cocaine under medical observation.
One of the suspects, who lives and works in a factory in France, had reportedly arrived in Nigeria on October 21 for a short holiday.
The agency said he admitted to ingesting 110 wraps of cocaine, which weighed 1.901 kilogrammes after they were recovered.
His co-traveller also tested positive during a body scan and confessed to swallowing 90 wraps of cocaine. The drugs weighed 1.559 kilogrammes after excretion.
The arrests were among several anti-drug operations conducted by the agency across the country, leading to the seizure of large quantities of cannabis, controlled substances and other illicit drugs, as well as the arrest of several suspects.
NDLEA seizes 976kg of cannabis in Lagos
In Lagos State, NDLEA operatives intercepted two commercial buses conveying a total of 976 kilogrammes of cannabis, popularly known as skunk.
The first operation took place on Sunday, October 25, along Kudirat Abiola Way, Ikeja, where officers recovered 537 kilogrammes of the substance from a white Volkswagen LT 28 bus.
On the same day, another team intercepted a brown J5 bus along the Gbagada-Oshodi Expressway and seized an additional 439 kilogrammes of cannabis.
In Oyo State, two men were arrested on Thursday, October 29, while allegedly loading 554 kilogrammes of cannabis into a Volvo truck along Idere Road, Igboora.
The NDLEA said the operation targeted a suspected drug dealer identified as Omo Oba, who had escaped arrest on October 25 when operatives seized 309.5 kilogrammes of cannabis allegedly linked to him.
Raids yield drugs, ammunition in Kano and Kaduna
In Kano State, NDLEA operatives raided a location in the Tsamiya area of Gezawa on October 26, recovering 247,500 tablets of diazepam weighing 57.7 kilogrammes and 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 weighing 38.7 kilogrammes.
Two days later, officers arrested two suspects in the Dorayi area with 19,250 pills of tramadol 225mg weighing 13.6 kilogrammes.
The agency also reported the arrest of a woman found with 266 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition during a patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway.
In a separate operation along the Zaria-Kano Expressway, a 68-year-old man was arrested at Gwargwaje, Zaria, with 2,770 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 100 ampoules of diazepam injection, 11,000 tablets of diazepam and 4,500 tablets of Exol-5.
Another raid at Tashan Banke in Kano State led to the arrest of seven suspects and the recovery of 178.85 kilogrammes of cannabis, alongside quantities of diazepam, tramadol, Exol-5 and pregabalin.
Cannabis farms destroyed in Ondo, Edo
In Ondo State, four suspects were arrested during a raid on cannabis farms in Ijare Forest on October 25.
The operation resulted in the recovery of 16 bags of processed cannabis weighing 180 kilogrammes.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, raided Eko Camp in Ilushi, Esan South East Local Government Area, on October 28.
The agency disclosed that a cannabis plantation covering 1.646 hectares, with an estimated yield of 4,115.53 kilogrammes, was destroyed.
A 50-year-old woman was arrested at the camp with 301 kilogrammes of processed cannabis, while an additional 176 kilogrammes was recovered during the operation.
In Sokoto State, operatives of the agency’s Zone 7 Command arrested a 68-year-old man, Ibrahim Ayuba, with 236.6 kilogrammes of cannabis on Saturday, October 31.
Marwa warns Nigerians abroad against drug trafficking
Reacting to the arrests and seizures, NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), warned Nigerians living abroad against using their overseas residence as a cover for drug trafficking.
“The interception of the two cocaine couriers at Abuja airport is a fresh warning to those who think they can use their residence abroad as cover to traffic drugs across Nigerian borders,” Marwa said.
He stressed that officers stationed at the country’s entry and exit points remained vigilant, warning that “there is no hiding place for anyone who chooses to risk their life and liberty by ingesting illicit drugs for a fee”.
Marwa commended personnel of the agency’s commands in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Ondo, Oyo and Edo states for their efforts.
He also urged them to sustain the fight against drug trafficking and intensify drug demand reduction campaigns through the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative.
