By Ayo Kehinde
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted six million pills of opioids valued at over N6.5bn at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State, and the Apapa Seaport in Lagos.
According to a statement on Sunday by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the intercepted drugs include tamol 225mg, tapentadol 225mg, carisoprodol 225mg, and 332,000 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup.
Babafemi said the seizures were based on intelligence that exposed new smuggling routes being used by drug cartels, prompting the watch-listing of targeted containers for 100 per cent examination.
At the Port Harcourt Ports, NDLEA operatives uncovered six million opioid pills and 162,000 bottles of codeine syrup in two containers during joint examinations with Nigeria Customs and other security agencies on May 19 and 20.
In a similar operation at the Apapa port, Lagos, a container flagged by the NDLEA was found to contain 170,000 bottles of codeine syrup during a joint inspection on May 22.
Meanwhile, two British nationals — Mhizha Jordan Alexander Tatendra and Ayedipe Andrew Adejuwon — alongside two Nigerians, Shonowo Oluwaseun Imole and Ofuoma Omokaro Ayobami, have been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, for attempting to smuggle 92 bags of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, weighing 51.10kg into the country.
Alexander, who arrived aboard a Qatar Airways flight from Doha on May 15, was placed under surveillance and monitored to the airport’s car park where he was received by Ayedipe — a Nigerian-British dual citizen — along with Imole and the vehicle’s driver, Ayobami. NDLEA operatives swooped in as they attempted to drive out, arresting all four suspects and seizing the drug consignment.
Alexander reportedly confessed he was recruited during a vacation and promised £1,300 for a successful delivery. Ayedipe admitted arriving in Nigeria a day earlier via Ghana from South Africa.
A follow-up raid at their Lekki apartment led to the recovery of N93,000, 17,200 South African Rand, N3.81 million in cash, an Apple laptop, an iPhone 14 Pro Max, and four canisters of laughing gas (nitrous oxide).
In another development, NDLEA operatives destroyed 75,000 kilograms of skunk on 30 hectares of cannabis farms at Esuk-Odot village, Odukpani LGA of Cross River State, and recovered 200kg of the substance on May 22. Additionally, 1,957.5kg of skunk was destroyed in Ohosu forest, Ovia South West LGA, and Okhuse forest in Owan West LGA of Edo State on May 23 and 24.
In Nasarawa State, two suspects — Sunday Daniel, 51, and Abu Peter, 30 — were arrested at Keffi with 4,000kg of skunk hidden under unprocessed wood. Another suspect, Godwin Obi, 39, was nabbed at Karu with 154.5kg of cannabis on May 21.
Also on May 21, NDLEA operatives in Kaduna arrested a 22-year-old man, Muhammad Hamza, with 57,750 pills of tramadol and diazepam along the Kaduna-Zaria expressway. In Bauchi, Usman Muhammad, 45, was arrested with 80 blocks of skunk weighing 45kg.
In Yobe State, a stop-and-search operation along the Potiskum–Damaturu road led to the interception of 55 parcels of Colorado (2kg) being smuggled to Chad via Ngamboru Ngala, Borno State, by suspect Adum Muhammed, 29.
In Niger State, NDLEA personnel arrested Adams Ayibakro along the Mokwa-Jebba road on May 22 with 97kg of compressed cannabis sativa in a Mercedes Benz car marked FST 938 FU.
In Lagos, raids in the Osapa London area of Lekki led to the arrest of Jonathan Isa with quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, molly, rohypnol, codeine, cannabis, and nitrous oxide. Another raid at Idasun, Eleko, Ibeju-Lekki on May 24 led to the arrest of Olamilekan Idowu and seizure of 48kg of skunk.
NDLEA also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation efforts across the country. Advocacy sessions were held at Adamu Babbale Government Secondary School, Katsina; Mary Hanney Secondary School, Oron, Akwa Ibom; Nnodo Secondary School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi; Government Secondary School, Guyuk, Adamawa; and Government Girls Islamic Secondary School, Kano. The Lagos State Command also visited the Sarkin Fulani of Lagos, Alhaji Muhammadu Bambado.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the efforts of officers across the various commands for their contributions to drug supply and demand reduction in the past week.
