Crime
NDLEA Intercepts iover N7billion worth of Opioids at Apapa, Onne seaports
NDLEA Intercepts iover N7billion worth of Opioids at Apapa, Onne seaports
..Arrests 2 Businesswomen, Canada-based Nurse for Cocaine, Loud Trafficking at Lagos Airport
By: Michael Mike
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos two businessmen: Ihejirika Okechukwu and Iwuagwu Ikedi as well as a Canada-based nurse Usman Olami for attempting to import and export cocaine pellets and parcels of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis through the airport.
A statement by the spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi on Sunday said Ihejirika who have been a frequent visitor to Thailand from where he claims to be importing fish into Nigeria was arrested last Tuesday while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Thailand via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Babafemi said when he was taken for body scan, the result showed he ingested illicit drug which proved to be cocaine, and as a result, he was placed under excretion observation during which he digested five big egg size wraps of cocaine weighing 400 grammes.
In his statement, Babafemi said the 51-year-old suspect confessed that he was to be paid upon successful delivery of the drug consignment in Thailand, adding that he took the job to raise money to boost his fish importation business.
In the same vein, NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport last Thursday intercepted a 26-year-old businessman Iwuagwu Ikedi coming from Brazil via Addis Ababa during the inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight.
According to Babafemi, Iwuagwu body scan revealed ingestion of illicit drug which made him to be placed under observation, where he excreted a pellet of cocaine weighing 22 grammes.
He was said to have confessed that he ingested 30 wraps of the illicit drug in Brazil but excreted 29 pellets in Addis Ababa, where he handed them over to another person, he equally revealed that he was to be paid N2.5 million for trafficking the drug.
A Nigerian Canadian nurse Usman Olami was on 4th October arrested by NDLEA officers at the Lagos airport during the inward clearance of Air France passengers from Toronto, Canada via Paris. During a search of her luggage, a total of 70 parcels of Canadian Loud, weighing 35.7 kilogrammes were recovered from her.
Babafemi said during her interrogation, she claimed she was in Nigeria to meet her boyfriend who instructed her to come with the large consignment of the highly sought-after synthetic cannabis.
At the seaports, Babafemi said a total of 162,351 bottles of codeine based syrup were intercepted from two containers at the Apapa seaport in Lagos by NDLEA operatives during a joint examination of two containers with men of the Customs Service and other security agencies last Tuesday while not less than N7.2 million pills of Royal 225mg Tapentadol and Carisoprodol worth N3.6 million in street value were seized from a watch-listed container from India at Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers state last Tuesday.
In the same container, 780 cartons of chlorphenamine containing 15.6 million pills of the opioid, were also recovered. From two other watch-listed containers equally searched at the port in Onne, a total of 337,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup worth about N2.4 billion were recovered from them last Tuesday and Thursday, bringing the total value of the seized Tapentadol, Carisoprodol and Codeine consignments at the two seaports about N7.1 billion.
In Bauchi state, a suspect Sunday Ogenyi, 33, was arrested along Bauchi-Jos road with 76,600 pills of tramadol concealed in false compartments of his Toyota Sienna vehicle marked Enugu JRV 341 ZY, while NDLEA operatives in Ondo state last Tuesday arrested three suspects: Goddey Obizuo; Samuel Aniete; and Kuffrey Aniete at Afo village where 672 kilogrammes cannabis sativa was seized from them.
A raid at Illushi forest in Esan South East LGA, Edo state led to the destruction of 10,590.36 kilogrammes cannabis spread on 4.236144 hectares of farmland. Suspects arrested during the operation include: Benson Upuoni, 65; and Sunday Nwaeboyi, 35.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday 15th October arrested Andrew Anoriode with 3 kilogrammes methamphetamine and 1.9 kilogrammes cannabis along Lagos – Ibadan expressway while 241 kilogrammes of same substance was recovered at Gbaji, Badagry area of the state. A suspected meth cook, Agbeiboh Oscar, was nabbed same Tuesday at Abule Osun with 265 grammes of methamphetamine and different quantities of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of methamphetamine and others.
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 MMIA, PHPC, Apapa, Lagos, Bauchi, Ondo, and Edo commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures, stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.
NDLEA Intercepts iover N7billion worth of Opioids at Apapa, Onne seaports
Troops intensify crackdown on gunrunners fuelling banditry in Plateau
By: Zagazola Makama
In the fight against the hydra-headed menace of banditry, troops of 3 Division/Joint Task Force Operation ENDURING PEACE (OPEP) have recorded a major breakthrough in Plateau, neutralising a notorious gunrunner and recovering a cache of arms and ammunition.
The feat, achieved between Sept. 4 and 6, highlights the military’s growing resolve to dismantle the criminal logistics networks that have long sustained armed violence in the North-Central.
The gunrunner, described as a “high-value target” by security sources, had allegedly played a critical role in supplying bandits with rifles, magazines, and other logistics across Plateau and neighbouring states.
His neutralisation, officials say, has dealt a heavy blow to the illicit supply chain that has prolonged insecurity in the region.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that credible intelligence led troops to track the suspect to a hideout where he was receiving treatment for gunshot wounds on Sept. 4. He was swiftly apprehended and later confessed to his role as a logistics supplier, even agreeing to lead troops to his arms cache.
Two days later, on Sept. 6, troops launched a follow-up operation at the identified hideout. The mission, however, was anything but routine. As troops closed in, they came under heavy fire from the suspect’s gang members, resulting in a fierce exchange.
In the chaos, the gunrunner attempted to escape but was neutralised by the troops’ superior firepower. His cohorts, badly shaken by the encounter, fled the scene with gunshot wounds.
The troops subsequently combed the area, uncovering the concealed weapons: two AK-47 rifles and two magazines, which are now in custody.
The recovery, though modest in numbers, represents something bigger in the larger security equation: the deliberate targeting of supply chains that keep bandits armed and emboldened.
The bandit gangs rely not only on local recruits but also on a shadowy network of financiers, informants, and arms dealers. By dismantling this network, the military is effectively cutting off the oxygen that sustains criminal groups.
Troops intensify crackdown on gunrunners fuelling banditry in Plateau
Troops crush ISWAP terrorists after deadly attack on Darajamal community in Borno
By: Zagazola Makama
Residents of Darajamal village in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State are still reeling from a bloody attack launched by Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists, even as combined troops of Operation Hadin Kai responded swiftly to neutralise the perpetrators.
Zagazola Makama reports that the incident occurred on Friday night when the terrorists stormed the remote community, unleashing violence that claimed the lives of several villagers.
Witnesses said the attackers invaded the community and opened fire indiscriminately, causing panic among residents who fled into nearby bushes for safety.
A security source told Zagazola Makama that troops of Operation Hadin Kai, supported by the Air Component, immediately mobilised after receiving distress calls from the area.
“Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft were deployed and tracked the terrorists as they attempted to flee northwards from Darajamal after the attack. The aircrew confirmed the presence of friendly forces in the area before engaging the fleeing terrorists with successive airstrikes.
“Over 30 of the insurgents were neutralised in the strikes, while ground reinforcements secured the community shortly after the bombardment,” the source said, as more terrorists fatalities are still being counted.
It was gathered that the coordinated air and ground operation prevented the insurgents from regrouping, forcing survivors of the attack to retreat deeper into the Sambisa forest.
Security sources confirmed that calm had been restored to Darajamal, adding that search operations were ongoing in nearby villages to reassure displaced residents and forestall any reprisal attacks.
Meanwhile, humanitarian workers have expressed concern over the plight of survivors who lost loved ones and properties in the initial assault before troops intervened. Aid groups say immediate relief, including food, medical support, and psychosocial care, will be critical for the affected community.
Governor Babagana Zulum and the Military High Command are expected to visit Darajamal to access the current situation.
Troops crush ISWAP terrorists after deadly attack on Darajamal community in Borno
Troops arrest terrorist informants, logistics suppliers in Sokoto
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA have arrested two suspected terrorist informants and logistics suppliers in Gudu Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspects were apprehended on Sept. 4 during a fighting patrol to Yaka village by a quick response team.
The suspects, according to the source, are in troop custody for further investigation and action.
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