NDLEA uncovers illicit drugs packaged as Christmas cookies, arrests distributors in Lagos

By: Michael Mike

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have dismantled a social media network used to distribute illicit substances packaged as imported Christmas cookies and snacks.

The two masterminds of the initiative were also arrested and taken into custody after a raid on their hideout in Lekki area of Lagos.

A statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi said the drug syndicate run by the duo of Deji Adesanya and Olubiyi Majekodunmi had imported consignments of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis and a variety of colourful designer sachets with pictures and labels of cookies and snacks printed on them, and used to package the psychoactive substance in retail quantities.

Babafemi said following credible intelligence about the activities of the syndicate which operates and distributes through a WhatsApp platform, NDLEA operatives on Saturday raided their apartment at Ojulari street, Ikate area of Lekki where a large quantity of the designer sachets and 5 kilogrammes of Loud were recovered from them at the point of their arrest.

He said in another operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives last Thursday arrested a 38-year-old drug kingpin Philip Ucheka while taking delivery of 110 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 55.6 kilogrammes at Ladipo area of Mushin. He added that at the point of his arrest, three delivery vehicles were also seized from him.

The spokesman said at a courier company in Lagos, 100 grammes of Loud concealed in teddy bear imported from Thailand were intercepted last Thursday while a consignment of 548 capsules of tramadol hidden in bottles of Vitamin C and Magnesium going to the United Kingdom were recovered at another logistics firm the following day.

In Oyo state, NDLEA officers on patrol along Lagos -Ibadan expressway on Saturday m nabbed a suspect Wasiu Kareem, 55, with 8,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection; 590 bottles of codeine syrup; 1,500 pills of Co-codamol and 9,900 capsules of tramadol.

He said no fewer than seven suspects were arrested last Monday when NDLEA operatives raided the Ipe forest in Akoko South East area of Ondo State where they recovered 3,077 kilogrammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis. Those arrested include: John Ede; Ede Ndubuisi; Ikenna Abe; Eze Chukwuma; Maduabuchi Odo; Nnaji Chudubem and Gorge Okowor.

He said while Anthony Sylvester, 49, was arrested along Okene/Lokoja highway Kogi state conveying 649 kilogrammes skunk in a truck last Wednesday, NDLEA officers at the Seme Special Area Command on Friday raided a warehouse at Ashipa, Seme border area of Badagry, Lagos where they arrested a suspect Abubakar Shuaibu, 33, with 487 blocks of skunk weighing 243.5 kilogrammes.

In Kano, Tsalha Alasan, 47, was arrested along Zaria-Kano road with 137 kilogrammes skunk last Monday, while three suspects: Godspower Appeal, 50; Ernest Upong, 55; and Godday Chukwudi, 38, were nabbed last Wednesday with 322 blocks of skunk weighing 209 kilogrammes at Fanshanu village, Toro local government area, Bauchi state. A black Toyota Highlander jeep marked ABJ 533 EA used in conveying the consignment was also recovered from them.

A suspect John Ekojo, 51, was arrested with 210.15 kilogrammes skunk along Abuja/Jos highway on Saturday, while a couple: Abubakar Abdullahi, 45, and Jamila Abdullahi, 35, were nabbed along Abuja/Kaduna highway with 725 rounds of 7.62 mm live ammunition concealed in a sack of maize just as another suspect Awwal Sabiu, 20, was caught with 400 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition at Abuja/Kaduna tollgate on Friday.

Babafemi said with the same vigour, commands and formations of the agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.

Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), while commending the officers and men of DOGI, Lagos, Ondo, Oyo, Kogi, Kaduna, Kano, Seme and Bauchi commands for the various successful operations, enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the agency.

NDLEA uncovers illicit drugs packaged as Christmas cookies, arrests distributors in Lagos

Troops repel ISWAP attack in Chibok as NAF obliterates scores of fleeing terrorists

By: Zagazola Makama

Troops of the 28 Task Force Brigade, Sector 4 Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), early Saturday repelled a large-scale attack by ISWAP/Boko Haram terrorists in Chibok, Borno State, while the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) neutralised scores of the fleeing fighters during a follow-up air interdiction.

Zagazola gathered that the terrorists, numbering over 300, launched a coordinated multi-front assault on the community at about 3:00 a.m., attempting to breach defensive locations and overwhelm deployed troops.

A security source told Zagazola that the soldiers immediately responded with superior firepower and well-coordinated manoeuvres, engaging the attackers in a two-hour gun battle that forced them to retreat toward the Timbuktu Triangle.

“The troops were alert and professionally contained the attack. There was no casualty on our side, and no equipment was affected,” the source said.

Following the terrorists’ withdrawal, ground forces requested air support, prompting the immediate deployment of NAF combat aircraft to the identified withdrawal axis.

“The NAF jet delivered precise and devastating strikes along the terrorists’ escape route, obliterating a significant number of the fighters and disrupting their movement,” the source added.

According to the sources, four major airstrikes were conducted by NAF combat aircraft along the terrorists’ withdrawal route toward the Timbuktu Triangle. The airstrikes were guided by real-time intelligence from ground troops of the 28 Task Force Brigade, Sector 4 Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK).

The sources said that the first wave of strikes targeted a cluster of fleeing terrorists attempting to regroup, “achieving significant degradation of the hostile elements.” Subsequent strikes pursued additional pockets of fighters dispersing into forested terrain.

In addition to the four strikes executed by manned aircraft, the sources confirms that another set of attacks was carried out by an unmanned aerial platform.

“The platform maintained continuous ISR coverage and engaged with high precision. Its strikes further eliminated retreating fighters and disrupted their movement pattern,” the sources notes.

The sources emphasised that the combination of air and ground coordination ensured that the terrorists suffered “substantial losses,” preventing any possibility of reorganisation after the failed offensive.

Troops repel ISWAP attack in Chibok as NAF obliterates scores of fleeing terrorists

Armed bandits attack Kwandawa village in Sokoto, most kidnapped victims rescued

By: Zagazola Makama

Armed bandits attacked Kwandawa village in Sokoto State in the early hours of November 26, kidnapping several residents, but most of the victims were rescued unharmed.

Zagazola report that the assailants, described as numerous and carrying sophisticated weapons, invaded the village around 2:30 a.m., firing sporadically and abducting an unspecified number of people.

A coordinated response engaged the attackers in a prolonged gun duel, forcing them to flee into nearby bushes with apparent gunshot injuries.

While the majority of the kidnapped villagers were rescued unhurt, two victims remain unaccounted for. No casualties were reported among the villagers or the responding security personnel.

Security forces are combing the surrounding area to rescue the remaining victims and apprehend the bandits, with neighboring districts alerted to block potential escape routes.

Armed bandits attack Kwandawa village in Sokoto, most kidnapped victims rescued