National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, said its operatives intercepted consignments of illicit drugs concealed in frozen snails, electrical bulbs and female clothes heading to the United States, United Kingdom and Democratic Republic of Congo at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, and a courier company in Lagos.
According to the NDLEA, two suspects linked to the attempts to export the illicit substances have already been taken into custody.
This was made known in a statement yesterday by the Director of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi in Abuja.
Babafemi disclosed that one of the suspects, a cargo agent, Boladale Riliwan, was arrested on October 7, following the discovery of 15 parcels of skunk, a strain of cannabis, concealed in 10 pieces of giant rechargeable electrical bulbs he presented in a carton for airfreight to the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, at the export shed of the Lagos airport.
Another suspect in custody is 48-year-old Olawale Hakeemot who is a UK-based Public Health Assistant. She was arrested on Sunday, October 12 at the departure hall of terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, following the discovery of frozen snails used to conceal 2,300 pills of tramadol 225mg in her luggage while heading to Manchester, United Kingdom, on a Qatar Airways flight.
Attempt by another syndicate to export 810 pills of bromazepam hidden in female clothes going to the United States was also thwarted by NDLEA officers at a courier company in Lagos on Thursday, October 16.
In Adamawa, a suspect, Bello Buba was intercepted at an NDLEA check point in Namtari, Yola South Local Government Area with 38,270 pills of tramadol concealed in the spare tyre, boot and door compartments of his Honda Civic car. He drove all the way from Benin Republic to smuggle the consignment into Nigeria on Sunday, October 12.
Not less than 53,250 kilograms of skunk were destroyed on 21.3 hectares of cannabis farm in Ilawe Ekiti, Ekiti State, with 70 bags of the same psychoactive substance weighing 1,140kg recovered by NDLEA operatives during an operation that lasted between Sunday, October 12 and 13.
Suspects arrested include Matthew Emmanuel, 26; James Moses, 27; and Israel Samuel, 20.
This followed the destruction of 17,400kg of skunk on 6.96 hectares of plantation by NDLEA operatives at Aponmu forest reserve, Akure, Ondo State on Sunday, October 12.
‎In Oyo State, Aliyu Muhammed, 50; Babarinde Segun, 32; Ogunbiyi Sanjo, 30; and Ajani Oluro, 30, were nabbed with 596kg of skunk at Apata-Ako, Igboora, while Jacob Afolabi, 30, and Salako Oluwatobi, 25, were arrested with 273kg of same substance at Odo-Oyan, Igangan, on Thursday, October 16.
While Joseph Andrew was arrested in possession of 88kg of skunk on Wednesday, October 15 by NDLEA operatives at Ona-Imeko, Ogun State, another suspect, Festus Udoh, 42, was nabbed with 13,000 pills of opioids along Onitsha- Owerri road, Imo State. In same vein, a total of 74.5kg of skunk was recovered from the store of a suspect, Joseph Chukwujamaa at Umuogbo – Agu village, Enugu State on Saturday, October 18.
In Lagos, no fewer than 11 bags of skunk weighing 117kg were recovered from the base of a suspect, Ramoni Olukowi in Mushin area on Saturday, October 18, while a total of 80,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup were intercepted in a container earlier watch-listed by NDLEA coming from India during a joint examination of the shipment with men of the Nigerian Customs Service and other security agencies at Apapa port on Tuesday, October 14.
While commending the officers and men of MMIA, Apapa, Lagos, Ekiti, Adamawa, Oyo, Enugu, Ogun, Ondo, and Imo Commands for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Buba Marwa urged them and their colleagues across the country not to relent in their ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the agency.
