Crime
NDLEA intercepts cocaine consignments at Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt airports, arrests 7 traffickers
NDLEA intercepts cocaine consignments at Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt airports, arrests 7 traffickers
By: Michael Mike
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted at the nation’s three major airports of Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt large consignments of cocaine which Brazil based drug cartels tried smuggling into the country.
According to the spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi arrested were seven traffickers in the smashes.
A statement on Sunday by the spokesman said at the Port Harcourt International Airport, five suspects were arrested on Saturday 9th April. Three of them were arrested during the inward screening of passengers on board Qatar Airline flight QR1433 from Doha to Port Harcourt.
He said the three suspects departed Sao Paulo, Brazil on board same Qatar flight, en-route Doha to Abuja and Port Harcourt with a total of 24.96 kilogrammes of cocaine.
Babafemi sad the first is 51-year-old Udogwu Johnson who was arrested with 5.48 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in lotion plastic bottles sealed with candle wax. He claimed he agreed to traffic the drug for a fee of N1 million.
He said also arrested is Ezekwueme Valentine, 32, who was caught with 10.82 kilogrammes cocaine packed in 84 sachets concealed in seven duvets, while the third trafficker, Chiezie Ikechukwu Arinze, 35, was arrested with 8.66 kilogrammes cocaine hidden in 115 golden and silver colour 30ml breakable bottles factory packaged with lotion on top.
The fourth suspect, Uchechukwu Onwugbufor, 42, according to him, was arrested at the airport car park while waiting to receive one of the traffickers, Udogwu James and his consignment. He claimed he was contacted by someone in Brazil to receive Udogwu and lead him to Lagos for a fee of N100,000. Uchechukwu Onwugbufor was at the Airport with his neigbour, Nwogu Ezimadu, who is equally being investigated to determine if he is complicit in the crime or not.
He said at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, a Psychology graduate of Imo State University, Owerri, Sebastine Kelvin, 30, was arrested with 74 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.454 kilogrammes on arrival aboard Ethiopian Airline flight enroute Doula- Addis Ababa-Abuja last Wednesday.
He said the father of one who claims he is a motor spare parts dealer, said he lived in Cameroon for six years before going into the drug business to raise money to boost his trade. He added that he was introduced to the man who gave him the drugs at Addis Ababa by another person serving jail term for drug offence at the Doula Newbell Prison.
Also Read: Wamakko bags NDLEA Wider Ambassador Award
Babafemi said in Lagos, another Brazil based passenger, Uba Samuel was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, by NDLEA operatives last Friday on arrival aboard Ethiopian Airline flight from Sao Paulo via Addis Ababa to Lagos with sachets of cocaine weighing 633 grammes concealed in his footwear and toothpaste tube.
The suspect who claims to be a shoemaker and barber, while accepting ownership of the drug, said he used his shoe making knowledge to conceal the drug in his pair of sandals. Uba who is a regular traveller confessed he bought the drug to sell at a market in Abia.
In other clampdown, more illicit substances were recovered in raid operations in other parts of the country. In Gadaka village of Fika local government area, Yobe state, operatives arrested one Hassan Usman with a total of 22,110 tablets of Tramadol, D5 and Exol 5, while one Ali Mohammed was nabbed in a commercial vehicle coming from Kano to Maiduguri with 40 blocks of cannabis weighing 33 kilogrammes. Also arrested on the Kano-Maiduguri route was a driver Ibrahim Khalil Idris with 60 packets of Tramadol, all on Tuesday 12th April.
In Kogi state, 750 blocks of cannabis weighing 750 kilogrammes were seized from two suspects: Hassan Adamu, 25, and Abdulmalik Abdullahi, 24, along Okene-Abuja highway. The drug exhibits were concealed inside fabricated panels of a Ford bus.
Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) has commended the officers and men of the PHIA, NAIA, MMIA, Yobe, and Kogi Commands of the agency for disrupting desperate attempts by drug cartels to traffic dangerous drugs into Nigeria and across the country. He said the huge seizures at the airports will send a strong message to drug barons that Nigeria will no longer be their safe destination or transit route.
NDLEA intercepts cocaine consignments at Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt airports, arrests 7 traffickers
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
Troops foiled Armed bandits’ attack at Bulunku Zamzam Hotel in Gusau
By: Zagazola Makama
A suspected bandit attack was foiled by Nigerian troops in Gusau, Zamfara State, in the early hours of November 27, after gunmen stormed Bulunku Zamzam Hotel and areas behind NTA Samaru.
According to sources, the attackers, armed with sophisticated weapons, engaged security operatives in a prolonged gun duel.
The confrontation forced the bandits to retreat, sustaining possible gunshot injuries. No abduction or casualties were recorded during the incident.
Patrols and monitoring remain active in the area to prevent further criminal activities and ensure public safety.
Troops foiled Armed bandits’ attack at Bulunku Zamzam Hotel in Gusau
Retired Delta High Court Judge found murdered in Asaba Delta
Troops repel ISWAP attack in Chibok as NAF obliterates scores of fleeing terrorists
Unimaid @50: Day Professor Ahidjo Received Distinguished Alumnus Award
Roger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
POLICE CHARGE ROOMS, A MINTING PRESS
-
News2 years agoRoger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
-
Opinions4 years ago
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
-
Opinions4 years ago
POLICE CHARGE ROOMS, A MINTING PRESS
-
News2 years agoEYN: Rev. Billi, Distortion of History, and The Living Tamarind Tree
-
News7 months agoFAILED COUP IN BURKINA FASO: HOW TRAORÉ NARROWLY ESCAPED ASSASSINATION PLOT AMID FOREIGN INTERFERENCE CLAIMS
-
ACADEMICS2 years agoA History of Biu” (2015) and The Lingering Bura-Pabir Question (1)
-
Columns2 years agoArmy University Biu: There is certain interest, but certainly not from Borno.
-
Opinions2 years agoTinubu,Shettima: The epidemic of economic, insecurity in Nigeria
