NDLEA intercepts 3 trailer loads of opioids, seizes 3.5million pills, 344,000 codeine bottles

. Arrests 75-year-old grandpa, 70-year-old grandma over dealing in illicit drugs

By: Michael Mike

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted three trailer loads of opioids loaded with 3,450,000 pills and 344,000 bottles of codeine syrup in Lagos State.

According to the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday, the trucks were intercepted at Abule Ado in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of the state where three suspects were also arrested in connection with the seizure.

He revealed that the multi-billion naira consignments were loaded into two 40-ft container trucks and another 20-ft truck at the AML bonded terminal, Abule-Osun, near the International Trade Fair Complex before heading to a large warehouse at Abule-Ado where NDLEA officers eventually arrested the suspects and recovered the opioid consignments last Thursday.

Babafemi said those arrested are the warehouse agent, Cosmas Obiajulu, 51; Ridwan Balogun, 25, and Banjo Tayo, 30, both drivers of two of the trucks while the third driver jumped off to escape arrest.

He also revealed that NDLEA operatives last Tuesday arrested a suspect, Nwankwo Ejike in Coker area of Lagos where 100 litres of codeine syrup were recovered from him while 60 litres of the same substance were seized from Clinton Akinye in the same area same day.

He added that not less than 37.5 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa loaded in a Toyota camry car was recovered from another suspect, Adegbola Segun, 47, when the car was intercepted at Mile 12 area of Lagos last Monday.

Another consignment of opioids consisting of 59,106 pills of tramadol and different quantities of codeine syrup and rohypnol being taken across the border to Garua, Cameroon was intercepted by NDLEA officers last Monday along Mubi-Yola road, Adamawa state.

He disclosed that two suspects linked to the drugs: Abubakar Auwal, 39, and Adamu Abubakar (a.k.a Bamanga), 25, a trans-border trafficker who was to take the consignment from Mubi across to Cameroon were promptly arrested.

In Edo state, NDLEA operatives on Saturday raided the Iguiye forest in Ovia North East local government area, where a total of 11,636.185 kilogrammes cannabis was destroyed on three farms measuring 4.654474 hectares, while additional 188 kilogrammes of the same psychoactive substance was recovered and a suspect, Itah Nyong was arrested during the overnight operation.

Babafemi said a 75-year-old grandpa, Jibril Audu was last Friday arrested with 7.5 kilogrammes of cannabis at Oke-Asa village, Ijero-Ekiti, Ekiti state during a raid operation, while a 70-year-old grandma, Tikwase Nytor was nabbed with 15.6 kilogrammes of same substance on last Thursday during a raid operation at Achusa and International Market road, Makurdi, Benue state.

He noted that the NDLEA commands across the country balanced their drug supply reduction operations with War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaigns to schools, markets, worship centres and communities.

Meanwhile, while commending the efforts of the Lagos, Edo, Ekiti, Benue and Adamawa commands of the agency for jobs well done in the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) assured that officers and men of the agency will continue to work with local and international partners to ensure that the scourge of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking is brought to the barest minimum in Nigeria.

NDLEA intercepts 3 trailer loads of opioids, seizes 3.5million pills, 344,000 codeine bottles