From Tomato Paste To Meth: NDLEA thwarts creative drug smuggling attempts
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have successfully intercepted various consignments containing illicit substances, including skunk hidden within tins of tomato paste and methamphetamine concealed within used clothes, intended for export to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
The first interception involved a consignment of skunk concealed in tomato paste tins, weighing 20.00 kilograms.
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This interception took place on Friday, September 8th, at the SAHCO export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja.
Simultaneously, another shipment of methamphetamine, with a gross weight of 1.60kg, was seized at a courier company in Lagos.
In a related development, NDLEA officers, as part of their ongoing efforts, intercepted a 556-gram consignment of Canadian Loud, sent from Canada to one Tunji Adebayo in Ikorodu, Lagos.
Although Adebayo was not present when operatives visited his house, his younger brother accepted the package on his behalf and was subsequently arrested.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives conducted a successful raid on the residence of a notorious drug lord known as Abdul Rauf (aka ‘Na God) in Akala, Mushin, Lagos.
During the operation, they seized 1,101 kilograms of Ghanaian Loud and arrested three suspects. The primary target, the kingpin, remains at large.
In a separate operation along the Okene – Lokoja – Abuja expressway in Kogi, a 22-year-old named Agada Emmanuel was apprehended with 77.400 kilograms of cannabis on Thursday, September 7th.
Additionally, a total of 369,980 pills of opioids were recovered on the same road on Monday, September 4th, leading to the arrest of Kabiru Ahmad Abdullahi in Gombe state, who was linked to the seizure.
NDLEA operatives also recovered 399 pieces of improvised explosive devices from Asana Oluwagbenga Leke, 39, along the Mokwa-Jebba road on Thursday, September 7th.
The suspect claimed he received the explosives at a park in Ibadan for delivery to someone in Kaduna. Both the suspect and the exhibits have been handed over to the military authorities in Niger state.
In Ogun state, Yinka Azeez was arrested in Sabo Lafenwa, Abeokuta, on Tuesday, September 5th, following the seizure of 41 kilograms of cannabis from Titilayo Adetayo at Sagumu Interchange the previous day. S
Similarly, two suspects, Muhammad Aliyu and Abdullahi Zakariya, were arrested in Zaria-Kano Road and Haye Arewa, Hotoro, Kano, respectively, with a total of 426.5 kilograms of skunk on Tuesday, September 5th.
Onyeka Uzor, 25, was apprehended in Idemili, Anambra state, with 64.8 kilograms of skunk and tramadol, while Destiny Irabor was nabbed on Friday, September 8th, with over 180 kilograms of opioids loaded in his Toyota Sienna bus.
In Kaduna, two suspects, Ahmed Yusuf and Rilwan Nura, were arrested on Wednesday, September 6th, in connection with the seizure of 100 blocks of cannabis weighing 55 kilograms along Abuja Road.
In Edo state, NDLEA operatives destroyed cannabis farms measuring 4.236347 hectares in the Ekudo forest, Onwude LGA.
Additionally, on Thursday, September 7th, a raid on the house of one Amuodu Egwehide in Iloje Okpuje, Owan West LGA, resulted in the recovery of 22 bags of skunk weighing 261.4 kilograms. During the same operation, a 60-year-old grandmother, Mrs. Eunice Egwehide, was arrested with 17 kilograms of the same substance.
In Yobe State, Gapchiya Modu, 26, was arrested with 60 kilograms of cannabis along Kano-Nguru Road, Nguru. In Imo State, 200 blocks of the same substance, weighing 57 kilograms, were recovered from Usim Orji, 45, along Aba-Owerri road on Wednesday, September 6th.
After conducting over two months of surveillance, NDLEA operatives successfully arrested a wanted kingpin, Idoko Festus Ifesinachi, 40, who was linked to the importation of 76.9 kilograms of Canadian Loud.
This contraband was intercepted in a container marked MSDU6686346 at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers state, on June 2nd. Idoko Festus Ifesinachi was apprehended at his hideout in Lagos and subsequently transferred to Port Harcourt.
In addition to these successful drug control efforts, state Commands and other formations continued the Agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaigns.
These campaigns targeted schools, places of worship, palaces, and local communities. Notable visits included WADA advocacy with His Royal Highness, Emir of Hadejia, Alhaji Adamu Abubakar Maji, sensitization lectures for members of the Hairdressers Association in Ila Orangun, engagements at RCCG Dominion Tower in Port Harcourt, and outreach to Muslim faithful at Harmony Estate central mosque in Ilorin, among others.