NDLEA Seizes Over 4 Tons Of Drugs, Destroys 40 Tons Of Cannabis Plants In Nationwide Raids
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the seizure of over four tons of illicit and controlled drugs, including nitrous oxide, skunk, codeine syrup, methamphetamine and tramadol, in various states of the country.
The agency also said it destroyed 40 tons of cannabis plants in Ekiti state, as part of its efforts to curb the cultivation and trafficking of the banned substance.
According to a statement issued by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, on Monday, the agency intercepted 1,194 cylinders of nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas, with a total weight of 2,547.2 kilograms, loaded in two Toyota Sienna buses along Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway on Friday. Two suspects: Onyebuchi Ikpozu and Kenneth Igwe, who were taking the consignments to Abuja for distribution, were arrested and taken into custody.
Babafemi said one of the Toyota Sienna buses marked KTU 582 HV was conveying 99 cartons containing 594 cylinders weighing 1,267.200kgs, while the second bus with registration number FKJ 329 YA was conveying 100 cartons of the substance with 600 cylinders weighing 1,280kgs.
He added that a 48-year-old woman, Mrs. Ugo Eluba, was also arrested in Abuja in a follow-up operation after 2,400 ampules of pentazocine injection and 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 intercepted in Kogi state were traced to her.
The statement further revealed that the NDLEA operatives intercepted 977 kilograms of skunk on Wednesday in a trailer marked LSR 343 XW, bearing cartons of maggi. The skunk consignment was loaded into the truck at Ipele junction in Ondo state. While 959kgs of the substance were meant for distribution in Sokoto state, the rest was to be dropped off at Gwagwalada. Two suspects: Auwal Mohammed and Abdullahi Abubakar were arrested in connection with the seizure.
Babafemi also said that two other suspects: Mutari Abdulazeez and Ayuba Madaki were arrested on Saturday at Zuba area of the FCT with different quantities of methamphetamine, cannabis and 13,930 pills of tramadol.
He stated that Shuaibu Yusif and Abubakar Hussaini were nabbed with 89.1kgs of skunk along Kano-Hadejia road on Saturday during a stop and search patrol by NDLEA operatives.
He added that no fewer than 6,000 ampules of pentazocine injection were recovered from a suspect, Usman Musa Sidi, along Abuja-Forest road on Monday while on his way to Bauchi state. A follow-up operation in Bauchi led to the arrest of the actual owner of the consignment, Dominic Chukwuma, with at least 2.58kgs of Diazepam and 36.55kgs of pentazocine injection recovered from his home. Two other suspects: Inuwa Nuhu and Isiyaku Dahiru Sani were also arrested same day in connection with the seizure of 49 blocks of cannabis sativa concealed in a black sack weighing 26kgs in a commercial vehicle coming from Ogere, Ogun state to Kano.
Babafemi further disclosed that a total of 183kgs of Ghana Loud, a strain of cannabis, were recovered from body compartments of a J5 bus intercepted in Lagos on Wednesday. He said that operatives in Sokoto arrested one Charles Okeke with 473 bottles of codeine syrup at Unguwar Kosai area on Tuesday. He also said that in Edo state, 365 blocks of compressed cannabis sativa weighing 258kgs were recovered from a Toyota Camry car marked KTU 886 EZ at Igarra, Akoko Edo LGA.
The statement also said that between Monday and Wednesday last week, NDLEA operatives stormed thick forests in Ijesha Isu-Ekiti, Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti state, where they destroyed 40 tons (40,000 kilograms) of cannabis plants covering 16 hectares of farmland.
Babafemi said that the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the officers and men involved in the operations for their diligence and professionalism. He urged them to sustain the tempo and intensify the war against drug abuse and trafficking in Nigeria.
Also, he appealed to members of the public to support the agency with useful information and report any suspicious activities or individuals involved in drug-related crimes. He assured that the NDLEA would continue to protect the identity of its informants and whistleblowers.
