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NDLEA Storms Edo Forests, Razes Warehouse Housing 317 tons of Cannabis

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NDLEA Storms Edo Forests, Razes Warehouse Housing 317 tons of Cannabis

By Michael Mike

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dealt a lethal blow on a cluster of cannabis syndicates operating in the Opuje forests of Edo state where massive warehouses and tents storing over 317,417 kilogrammes (317.4 metric tons) of the psychoactive substance were destroyed and set ablaze in a two-day operation.

The clampdown came few hours after the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) vowed to make life tough for drug barons and cartels in Year 2023 if they fail to back out of the illicit drug trade.

A statement on Saturday by the spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi said a police impersonator, Omoruan Theophilus, 37, who parades as a Police Inspector to convey the drugs from the forests to the cities and three others: Aigberuan Jacob, 42; Ekeinde Zaza, 53, and Naomi Ohiewere, 42, were arrested in connection with the drugs.

Babafemi, while noting that the Opuje community in Owan West Local Government Area, Edo State, is notorious for cannabis cultivation, with cartels investing huge resources, cutting down economic trees of the forest reserves and cultivating cannabis on a large scale, running into hundreds of hectares, and after harvest built warehouses inside the forest reserves, employing the services of armed youths to protect the warehouses round the clock.

Babafemi said accessing the forest last Wednesday took hours of trekking by hundreds of NDLEA operatives. He said they were ambushed with bonfire by armed youths on their way out of the community the following day but were able to successfully leave the area without any casualty except the heavy investment losses inflicted on the cartels.

The spokesman also said the agency last Thursday through intelligence received from the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States busted a criminal syndicate involved in the trafficking of fake USD currency in Lagos.

He noted that during a combined operation carried out by NDLEA operatives with their EFCC colleagues, a total of $269,000 counterfeit US dollars were recovered from the syndicate at Oniru Shoprite area of Lekki, Lagos, where three suspects were arrested.

Meanwhile, Marwa while commending all the officers involved in the two special operations in Edo and Lagos States for their professionalism and commitment, had directed that the fake dollars recovered and suspects arrested in the Lekki operation be immediately transferred to the EFCC for possible prosecution.

NDLEA Storms Edo Forests, Razes Warehouse Housing 317 tons of Cannabis

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Troops Arrest Suspected Gunrunners in Plateau State

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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

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Illicit drugs: NDLEA strengthens airport operations as officers undergo advanced trainings

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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

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15 Boko Haram Fighters Killed in Fierce Supremacy Battle with ISWAP in Tumbum Kare

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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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