The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted over 1.3 million pills and capsules of tramadol and other opioids, and about 6,000kg of cannabis, with a combined street value of over N3.4 billion in operations across several states. The agency also arrested a 49-year-old man, Innocent Ekpe, who allegedly impersonated a senior police officer to evade security checks while transporting illicit drugs. Ekpe was arrested along the Benin-Onitsha Expressway in Asaba, Delta State, with 292.48kg of skunk concealed in his vehicle.
The NDLEA said preliminary investigation established that Ekpe had allegedly been parading himself as Godwin Emeka, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, using a forged identity card to evade scrutiny at checkpoints. His alleged accomplice, 39-year-old Nduka Joseph, was also arrested. In another operation in Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided a location along Agbor Road, Benin City, where they arrested 45-year-old Matthew Ossai, who used his auto-repair workshop as a front for storing illicit drugs.
At the Tin-Can Island Port, Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 40-foot container shipped from Montreal, Canada, which arrived on September 12. Following intelligence received by the agency, the container was placed under surveillance before it was subjected to a joint physical examination with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies on September 16. The search uncovered 1,200 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 603.75kg and valued at N1.811 billion.
In Niger State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway at Chachi, Tafa Local Government Area, arrested three suspects — Bashir Usman, 20; Abubakar Nuhu, 18; and Abdulrahman Abdulwahab, 18 — with two locally fabricated AK-47 rifles and a magazine, a locally made pistol with a magazine, and nine rounds of 9mm ammunition concealed in a black travel bag. Two other suspects, Aminu Isyaku, 23, and Jamilu Habibu, 25, were arrested along the Abaji-Abuja Highway with over 1.1 million assorted tramadol tablets and capsules.
In Lagos, the agency arrested Onyeka Ofor at his residence in Aguda, Surulere, where 48,900 pills of tramadol 225mg were recovered. NDLEA operatives also intercepted seven cartons containing 59kg of cannabis sativa at a logistics company, leading to the arrest of a suspect, Luke Ugokwe. In another operation in Lagos, Ibrahim Hudu, 43, was arrested at Apongbo with 998.38kg of nitrous oxide gas.
In Gombe State, NDLEA operatives recovered 154,480 tramadol capsules from two suspects, Sabi’u Umar, 27, and Hassana Muhammad, 19, who were arrested at the Barunde area and Gombe Main Market respectively. In Imo State, Ifesinachi Godwin, 25, was arrested along the Owerri-Onitsha Road with 43.85kg of skunk. In Ondo State, four suspects were arrested during a raid on a two-hectare cannabis farm in Ita-Ogbolu Forest, where about 5,000kg of cannabis was destroyed.
The NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended officers and men of the Lagos, Tin-Can, Edo, Niger, Delta, Ondo, Gombe, Imo and FCT commands for their professionalism and intelligence-driven operations. Marwa urged them and other personnel across the country to sustain what he described as the agency’s balanced approach to drug control. The NDLEA commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
Key points
- The NDLEA seized over 1.3 million opioid pills and 6,000kg of cannabis worth N3.4bn in multiple operations.
- A fake police officer, Innocent Ekpe, was arrested with 292.48kg of skunk concealed in his vehicle.
- The NDLEA destroyed about 5,000kg of cannabis during a raid on a two-hectare cannabis farm in Ondo State.
