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NDLEA Smashes Major Drug Cartel…Arrests Leader in Village Mansion in Imo

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NDLEA Smashes Major Drug Cartel
…Arrests Leader in Village Mansion in Imo

By: Michael Mike

A major drug cartel behind the production and distribution of deadly psychoactive substance, methamphetamine, popularly called ‘mkpuru mmiri’ has been smashed by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) as the leader of the syndicate 42-year-old Chikaodi Mbonu is arrested with his associate in his mansion tucked in his Umuomi village, Uzogba-Ezenomi autonomous community, Ikeduru local government area of Imo State.

The spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Tuesday said the cartel with operational bases in Imo and Rivers state became a target of the NDLEA following intelligence indicating it is responsible for the distribution of substantial quantity of methamphetamine in South East, South South and other parts of the country.

Babafemi said after weeks of surveillance, officers of a special operations unit of the agency last Friday, tracked and traced the drug lord to his village mansion in Imo state where he was caught with a member of his cartel, Chibuike Ofoegbu, 34, with different quantities of methamphetamine, its precursor chemicals, a pump action gun and cartridges.

Babafemi while disclosing the exhibits recovered from the house to include: 419.99 grammes of methamphetamine; 750 grammes of iodine, a precursor chemical for meth; 500 grammes of sodium bicarbonate, a precursor chemical for meth; two electronic weighing scales and a pump action gun with four cartridges, noted that the operatives moved swiftly to another of Mbonu’s hideout located at 11 Redemption Avenue, Port Harcourt, Rivers state where they recovered additional exhibits: 750 grammes of processed sodium bicarbonate; 170 grammes of plain sodium bicarbonate and 75 grammes of meth.

The spokesman said another raid in the home of one of Mbonu’s associates, Odoemenam Chinedu, currently at large, at Njaba local government area, Imo state, led to the recovery of another pump action gun with 25 cartridges, among other items.

He said: “While the kingpin cools his heels in custody, two of his mansions in Imo state have been marked for possible forfeiture to the federal government.”

Babafemi said Mbonu had escaped from South Africa where he lived for years and mastered the art of cooking methamphetamine after he came under investigation for drug dealings, adding that upon his return to Nigeria, he continued the criminal trade by setting up clandestine laboratories in remote villages to shield his nefarious activities.

Meanwhile, while reacting to the successful taking down of the meth syndicate, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended the officers and men involved in the multi-pronged operation, stating that the manner the interdiction was carried out should send a strong signal to other cartels that there’s no hiding place for them in any part of the country.

NDLEA Smashes Major Drug Cartel
…Arrests Leader in Village Mansion in Imo

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Crime

NDLEA Dismisses Allegations of Lopsided Appointments, Nepotism as Baseless

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NDLEA Dismisses Allegations of Lopsided Appointments, Nepotism as Baseless

By: Michael Mike

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has described as baseless, allegations of nepotism and favouritism in the appointment of its Directors, Commanders and other top officials.

The agency in a statement on Thursday described as false, insinuations in some social media posts suggesting that appointments into high ranking positions are tilted in favour of Northern Muslims against Southern Christians.

The statement read that: “For the benefit of the reading public, the agency will like to state as follows:

“Out of the 20 Directors/ Commandant in NDLEA, 14 are Christians and 6 Muslims; of the 14 Zonal Commanders, 9 are Christians and 5 Muslims; out of 37 State Commanders, 19 are Christians and 18 Muslims; of the 14 Special Area Commanders, 10 are Christians and 4 Muslims; out of 12 Coordinators/Heads of Units, 9 are Christians and 3 Muslims; while out of 11 Heads of Operation, 7 are Christians and 4 are Muslims.

“In all, out of the 108 topmost appointments and positions in the agency, 68 of them are occupied by Christians and 40 Muslims, which represents a ratio of 63% – 37% as against the perception some mischief makers are trying to create against the leadership of the agency.

“The agency wishes to assure the public that its leadership remains focused and committed to the goal of curbing the scourge of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking while upholding the tenets of fairness, equity, and merit in its distribution of opportunities for its workforce.”

NDLEA Dismisses Allegations of Lopsided Appointments, Nepotism as Baseless

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Crime

NSCDC Uncovered Illegal Refinery in Rivers’ Thick Forest

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NSCDC Uncovered Illegal Refinery in Rivers’ Thick Forest

By: Michael Mike

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has uncovered another illegal bunkering site were stolen crude oil are channeled to a thick forest Umuedeokwara Community, Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State. where they are refined.

A press statement on Tuesday by the National Public Relations Officer of the NSCDC, Afolabi Babawale said the
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad (CG’SIS) uncovered another illegal bunkering site where stolen crude oil was tapped, channelled to reservoirs and refined locally in a thick forest at Umuedeokwara Community, Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.

He said the CG’s SIS Commander, Deputy Commandant Appolos Dandaura, hinted during a media briefing that the squad acted based on sustained intelligence, which revealed that a gang of criminal elements was operating an illegal refinery at the crime scene.

Dandaura said: “Like we always reiterate that our operations are intelligence-based and we value every piece of information and preserve the integrity of our informants; we swung into action, combed the entire forest and discovered where the suspects were refining crude oil locally after storage in large trampoline reservoirs and further packaged them in cellophane bags and sacks.

“These unscrupulous saboteurs connected fabricated and galvanized metallic pipes to the trunk lines of multinational oil pipeline installations with inserted valves; the suspects, however, took to their heels through the creeks due to the terrain upon sighting our men.

“The following exhibits were marked at the crime scene: about 20,000 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) stored in cellophane bags, large quantities of siphoned crude oil stored in tarpaulin reservoirs, different sizes of aluminium and plastic buckets, galvanized metallic Fabricated pipes, heavy-duty industrial hoses and items of clothing belonging to the suspects”.

Appolos said that the matching order of the Commandant General, Dr Ahmed Audi on the need to smoke out illegal bunkers and effect massive arrests for possible prosecution, frustrate their continuous efforts to sabotage the economy and to increase oil production in the nation; would always be carried out by the squad, adding that “the fight against illegal dealings in petroleum products is without compromise as the CG’SIS will not rest in combating the menace of crude oil theft across board .”

NSCDC Uncovered Illegal Refinery in Rivers’ Thick Forest

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Nigerian troops nutrialised 4 Boko Haram insurgents in Borno

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Nigerian troops nutrialised 4 Boko Haram insurgents in Borno

By: Zagazola Makama

The troops of Sector 1, North East Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, in conjunction with the Hybrid Force and CJTF, nutrialised four Boko Haram terrorists during a fighting Operation around Ngwom General Area in Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State.

The operation, which commenced at Sept 1, 2024, aimed to neutralize terrorist elements in the region.

Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama that during the operation, troops made contact with terrorist elements around Boroso Village, resulting in the neutralization of four terrorists.

Three Dane guns were recovered from the scene. The operation is part of the ongoing efforts to combat terrorism in the region, specifically under Operation Hadin Kai, Operation Desert Sanity III/Lake Sanity II, and Mountain Sanity II.

Nigerian troops nutrialised 4 Boko Haram insurgents in Borno

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