The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a large consignment of drugs with a combined street value of over N3.4 billion in operations across several states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The seizures include over 1.3 million pills of tramadol and other opioids, as well as about 6,000kg of cannabis. The agency also arrested a 49-year-old suspected drug trafficker who allegedly posed as a senior police officer to evade security checkpoints.
The suspect, Innocent Ekpe, was arrested on Wednesday, September 16, along the Benin-Onitsha Expressway in Asaba, Delta State, with 292.48kg of skunk concealed in a Toyota Sienna bus. Ekpe allegedly passed himself off as “Godwin Emeka”, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, using a forged police identity card. An accomplice, Nduka Joseph, 39, was also arrested. The NDLEA said Ekpe's fake identity was used to evade security checkpoints.
One of the biggest seizures was recorded at the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos, where operatives intercepted 1,200 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 603.75kg and valued at N1.81 billion. The consignment was concealed in a 40-foot container from Montreal, which arrived at the port on September 12 and was subsequently placed under surveillance. A joint examination conducted with the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies on September 16 uncovered the drugs packed in 31 jumbo bags inside two Toyota Sienna vehicles.
In another operation on Tuesday, September 15, operatives on patrol at Chachi, Tafa Local Government, Niger State, arrested Bashir Usman, 20; Abubakar Nuhu, 18; and Abdulrahman Abdulwahab, 18, on the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway. The suspects were allegedly found with two locally fabricated AK-47 rifles with a magazine, a locally made pistol with a magazine and nine rounds of 9mm ammunition concealed in a travel bag. The NDLEA also arrested two teenagers, Aminu Isyaku, 23, and Jamilu Habibu, 25, on the Abaji-Abuja Highway with more than 1.1 million tramadol tablets and capsules.
The NDLEA also made several other seizures across the country, including the arrest of Sabi’u Umar, 27, and Hassana Muhammad, 19, in Gombe with 154,480 tramadol capsules. In Lagos, Onyeka Ofor was arrested at his residence in Aguda, Surulere, with 48,900 tablets of tramadol 225mg. In Edo State, Matthew Ossai, 45, was arrested at his auto-repair workshop, which the agency alleged was being used as a storage facility.
The NDLEA also destroyed 5,000kg of skunk on a two-hectare cannabis farm in Ita-Ogbolu forest in Ondo State and arrested four suspects. In Imo State, Ifesinachi Godwin, 25, was arrested on the Owerri-Onitsha Road with 43.85kg of skunk. The NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (rtd), commended officers of various commands for their professionalism and urged them to sustain the agency’s “balanced approach” to drug control.
The NDLEA's War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign continued across the country, with lectures in Ogbomoso, Awka, Epe and Jalingo, as well as an advocacy visit by the Delta Ports Command to the Pere of Ogbe-Ijoh Kingdom in Warri. The campaign aimed to combine enforcement with prevention. The NDLEA's efforts have resulted in significant seizures and arrests, dealing a blow to the drug trade in Nigeria.
Key points
- The NDLEA seized over N3.4 billion worth of drugs in various operations across Nigeria.
- A fake police officer and two teenagers with AK-47 rifles were arrested in separate operations.
- The NDLEA's War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign continued across the country.
