Crime
Another wanted drug lord arrested in Ondo as Italy based Nigerian excretes 95 pellets of Heroin at Abuja airport
Another wanted drug lord arrested in Ondo as Italy based Nigerian excretes 95 pellets of Heroin at Abuja airport
By: Michael Mike
Wanted drug kingpin behind the 2000.6 kilogrammes cannabis sativa seized in a concrete mixer truck in Adamawa State last December, Henry Okamaru (a.k.a. Lawrence Ik Okamaru) has been arrested in Ondo state after five months of manhunt by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Two suspects: Matthew Donuwe and Friday Nmborgwu were arrested in connection to the consignment last December., and had confessed that the concrete mixer truck with Lagos registration number SMK 890 XB was loaded with the illicit drug in Ogbese, Ondo state while they travelled for two months on the road before arriving Adamawa where they were eventually arrested by NDLEA operatives.
A statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi said investigations have revealed that Okamaru is one of the leaders of a cannabis cultivation cartel that operates in the Ondo-Ekiti axis, and shuttles between Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo and Delta State from where he coordinates supplies of illicit consignments to Northern parts of the country and Lagos State.
According to Babafemi, the drug lord has also been identified as a member of an international drug trafficking ring, and shuttles between Nigeria and South Africa where he settles his family. He has a strong control and stake in cannabis cultivation in Ondo, Edo, Ekiti, Osun and Oyo States with large storage facilities in Lagos and Abbi in Delta State from where his consignments are distributed year round.
Also, a 36-year-old Nigerian based in Italy, Nwakanma Uche has been arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja for ingesting pellets of heroin.
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Nwakanma was nabbed while trying to board Air France Airline enroute Abuja-Paris-Milan, Italy on Sunday 15th May 2022. He was thereafter kept under observation during which he excreted 95 pellets of the illicit drug.
He claimed he came to see his parents in Nigeria after 12 years in Italy and to complete his fathers traditional marriage rites. He added that he was to be paid N1.5million after a successful delivery of the drugs in Milan.
Babafemi said across five states of Edo, Kaduna, Kogi, Akwa Ibom and Oyo, NDLEA operatives intensified their offensive action against drug cartels.
In Edo, a pharmacy along Sapele Road, Benin, was raided last Friday following intelligence and prolonged surveillance, the owner of the store, Thaddeus Uliagbafusi, 58, was arrested while a total of 130,670 tablets of different controlled drugs, 1,396 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 743 bottles of codeine were recovered from a secret location where the drugs are repackaged.
Babafemi said this followed a similar raid of a drug joint operated by Mrs. Christianah Gabriel, 53, at Uromi, Esan North East LGA, Edo state, who was arrested with 25 kilogrammes cannabis.
According to him 15,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection were seized by operatives in Kaduna along Abuja-Kaduna express road, 12,500 tablets of Diazepam were intercepted along Okene-Abuja highway on Thursday 26th May. The drug exhibits were found inside a truck conveying motor spare parts from Onitsha, Anambra to Kaduna.
In Akwa Ibom, a female drug dealer, Irene Bassey was arrested last Saturday, during a search of her house at Ikpa town, Esit Eket LGA where 30.5 kilogrammes cannabis was recovered, while one Muideen Rasaki was nabbed with 90.8 kilogrammes cannabis at Elere, Boluwaji area of Ibadan South-East LGA.
Meanwhile, while commending the officers and men of the Directorate of Intelligence, NAIA, Edo, Kaduna, Kogi, Akwa Ibom and Oyo state Commands of the agency for the series of arrests and seizures in the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) charged them and their compatriots across the country not to relent in their offensive action against drug cartels and their kingpins.
Another wanted drug lord arrested in Ondo as Italy based Nigerian excretes 95 pellets of Heroin at Abuja airport
Crime
Troops Arrest Suspected Gunrunners in Plateau State
Troops Arrest Suspected Gunrunners in Plateau State
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) have arrested two suspected gunrunners during a sting operation in Bokkos Town, Plateau State.
Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspects, identified as Mr. Kenneth Mayas, 31, and Mr. Bulus Yilfo, 60, were apprehended at a hideout in White House Hotel on Friday while attempting to procure an AK-47 rifle for N1.45 million.
Both suspects hail from Forop District in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.
During the operation, troops recovered the cash sum of N1.45 million from the suspects, who are believed to be part of a larger criminal syndicate.
The sources said the arrested suspects and the recovered money are currently in custody for interrogation, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend other members of the syndicate.
Troops Arrest Suspected Gunrunners in Plateau State
Crime
Illicit drugs: NDLEA strengthens airport operations as officers undergo advanced trainings
Illicit drugs: NDLEA strengthens airport operations as officers undergo advanced trainings
. Deploy new skills, tools across airports operations, Marwa charges officers
By: Michael Mike
Selected Commanders and officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, have undergone series of trainings in Advance Passenger Information System (API) and Passenger Targeting/ Intelligence Gathering as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen NDLEA’s operational efficiency at the country’s major airports.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, which facilitated the trainings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and Abuja, the workshops were designed to enhance the capacity of the Agency’s Commands at Airports to target and intercept high-risk passengers, cargo and mail, to help combat illicit drug trafficking. They will also help to facilitate communication and coordination between countries of origin, transit and destination in order to destabilise illicit cross-border flows and criminal networks.
While the Commander of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Strategic Command of NDLEA, ACGN Usman Ali Wadar and his counterpart at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA, Abuja, CN Mohammed Ajiya participated in the six-day training in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 13 other officers drawn from the MMIA and NAIA Commands took part in the five-day training that held in Abuja. They are all expected to impact the knowledge and skills acquired during the sessions on their other colleagues.
The trainings were funded by the European Union, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States under the AIRCOP Airport Communication Project, implemented by the UNODC.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended the facilitators: Ms. Fabienne Russel of UNODC and Anderson Leme Siqueira of Brazilian Customs Administration for taking their time to be in Abuja for the training after the engagement in Abidjan.
He equally praised the two NDLEA Commanders and other officers who participated in the Abijan and Abuja training sessions for their interest and commitment. He charged them to immediately reflect the new skills and tools in their operations across the international airports in the country.
Femi Babafemi
Director, Media & Advocacy
NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja
Friday 20th December 2024 Illicit drugs: NDLEA strengthens airport operations as officers undergo advanced trainings
. Deploy new skills, tools across airports operations, Marwa charges officers
Selected Commanders and officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, have undergone series of trainings in Advance Passenger Information System (API) and Passenger Targeting/ Intelligence Gathering as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen NDLEA’s operational efficiency at the country’s major airports.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, which facilitated the trainings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and Abuja, the workshops were designed to enhance the capacity of the Agency’s Commands at Airports to target and intercept high-risk passengers, cargo and mail, to help combat illicit drug trafficking.
They will also help to facilitate communication and coordination between countries of origin, transit and destination in order to destabilise illicit cross-border flows and criminal networks.
While the Commander of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Strategic Command of NDLEA, ACGN Usman Ali Wadar and his counterpart at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA, Abuja, CN Mohammed Ajiya participated in the six-day training in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 13 other officers drawn from the MMIA and NAIA Commands took part in the five-day training that held in Abuja. They are all expected to impact the knowledge and skills acquired during the sessions on their other colleagues.
The trainings were funded by the European Union, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States under the AIRCOP Airport Communication Project, implemented by the UNODC.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended the facilitators: Ms. Fabienne Russel of UNODC and Anderson Leme Siqueira of Brazilian Customs Administration for taking their time to be in Abuja for the training after the engagement in Abidjan.
He equally praised the two NDLEA Commanders and other officers who participated in the Abijan and Abuja training sessions for their interest and commitment. He charged them to immediately reflect the new skills and tools in their operations across the international airports in the country.
Illicit drugs: NDLEA strengthens airport operations as officers undergo advanced trainings
Crime
15 Boko Haram Fighters Killed in Fierce Supremacy Battle with ISWAP in Tumbum Kare
15 Boko Haram Fighters Killed in Fierce Supremacy Battle with ISWAP in Tumbum Kare
By: Zagazola Makama
A deadly clash of supremacy between rival terrorist factions has claimed the lives of 15 Boko Haram fighters, with five Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) members sustaining injuries.
Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama that the confrontation occurred when ISWAP launched a coordinated attack on Boko Haram fighters loyal to the Bakura Buduma faction.
The assault, aimed at asserting dominance, led to significant losses on the Boko Haram side, with ISWAP fighters seizing an undisclosed number of weapons during the confrontation.
The incident marks the latest in a series of violent infightings between the two groups, which have been engaged in a bitter rivalry over resources, territorial control, and influence in the Lake Chad region.
Sources said that the clashes have intensified in recent months as both groups seek to expand their foothold in the area with the Boko Haram faction already gaining upper hand against the ISWAP.
15 Boko Haram Fighters Killed in Fierce Supremacy Battle with ISWAP in Tumbum Kare
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