NDLEA Recovers Over N1 billion Illicit Drug Consignments at Lagos Hotel

By: Michael Mike

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recovered 589 bags of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis with a total weight of 417.3 kilogrammes worth ₦1.04 billion in street value during a raid at an 80-room new established hotel in Victoria Island Lagos.

A press statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi alleged that the hotel was being used as cover for distributing illicit substances, noting that the seizure was made after hours of combing the rooms.

Babafemi said at least, three suspects: Eze Ayitu; Ofuokwu Samuel; and Emmanuel Ameh were arrested in the course of the operation at the five-storey hotel building between Friday and Saturday, while two other suspects: Noble Philip and one Kenneth are currently at large.

He disclosed that items suspected to be proceeds of the illicit drug trade recovered from the premises housing raided hotel, The Hook Hotel also known as Caesar Hotel and Caesar Lounge located at 16 Waziri Ibrahim street, off Elsie Femi Pearse street, Victoria Island, Lagos, include: Toyota Prado Landcruiser Jeep (Lagos AKD 472 OZ); Toyota Sienna Vehicle (Lagos KJA 79 HJ); Volkswagen Delivery Van (Lagos AAA 525 JE); Kia Ceranto Car (Lagos BDG 860 GQ); Grand Caravan Dodge (Lagos APP 847 YF); 74 new TV sets; 10 used TV sets; and 13 refrigerators, among others.

The spokesman said in another major interdiction in Jigawa state with a follow up operation in Kano, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence last Wednesday seized consignments of opioids being moved from Kano to Niger Republic and Yobe state through Jigawa.

He noted that the psychoactive substances were being moved in a Toyota Sienna vehicle marked ABJ 182 NW at about 2:30am on Wednesday along Kano- Ringim road, Gumel town when anti-narcotic officers on patrol intercepted them with two suspects: Abba Ibrahim, 28, and Shuaibu Umar, 29 arrested.

He disclosed that recovered from the Sienna vehicle were 200,000 pills of tramadol 250mg and 217,500 capsules of pregabalin, adding that a swift follow up operation in Kano led to the arrest of the supplier, 41-year old Jamilu Muhammad, at his residence located at Mil Tara, Layin Technical area of Kano while additional 1,584,000 pills of tramadol 250mg stacked inside a Nissan 18-seater bus marked DAL 372 XA and a room in his house were discovered and evacuated, bringing the total number of the recovered opioids to 2,001,500 pills.

Babafemi said barely a week after NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) uncovered 20 parcels of cocaine concealed inside religious books going to Saudi Arabia at a logistics company in Lagos, the operatives have again intercepted another shipment of 46 wraps of cocaine weighing 547 grammes hidden in body cream going to the Middle East country, stating that the seizure was made last Wednesday at a courier firm in Lagos.

He said another consignment intercepted same day includes: 1.8 kilogrammes pentazocine injection and 60 grammes bromazepam tablets heading to Canada.

At the Seme border area of Badagry, Lagos State, three Ghanaian women were on Sunday 20th April arrested at the Gbaji check point by NDLEA operatives while attempting to smuggle combined 4.8 kilogrammes of Ghana Loud, a strong strain of cannabis into Nigeria. The suspects arrested include: Haziza Zubairu, 42; Samirat Mustapha, 43; and Jamila Salifu, 26.

In Kano, a 60-year-old grandma Safiya Shamsu was on Friday nabbed at Samegu area of Kumbotso local government area with 5.6 kilogrammes skunk, a strain of cannabis, while another suspect Muntari Labaran, 35, was taken into custody following the seizure of 100 litres of codeine syrup from him at Yelwa area of Dala local government area.

A total of 3,814.9 kilogrammes skunk was destroyed on two farms in Ugbodu community, Ovia North East local government area of Edo state last Thursday when NDLEA operatives raided the plantations where three suspects: Samuel Samson, 26; Daniel Peter, 20; and Abel Edah, 31, were arrested.

Babafemi said the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA commands equally continued across the country 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, Kano, Jigawa, Edo and Seme commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, equally praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for ensuring a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.