Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested an 80-year-old man, Chika Ugwoji, in Rivers State for allegedly dealing in illicit drugs.
Ugwoji was arrested in Ahoada on Tuesday, 14 July, after officers allegedly recovered 800 grammes of skunk from him.
In a separate operation, the agency said it intercepted 1,630,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in fabricated compartments of two articulated trucks travelling through the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor.
The seizures form part of the NDLEA’s ongoing efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate allegedly smuggling the psychoactive substance into the country. The latest interceptions came barely a week after operatives recovered 558,900 tramadol pills hidden in a false-bottom compartment of a truck that entered Lagos through the same route.
According to the agency, the first truck, which was heading to Kano, was intercepted on 2 July along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway following intelligence gathering. Officers recovered 853,000 tramadol pills concealed beneath the trailer’s cargo floor and arrested the 22-year-old driver, Jabir Kabiru.
A second trailer was intercepted on the same expressway on 4 July while travelling to Kano. NDLEA operatives recovered 777,000 tramadol pills hidden in another fabricated compartment beneath the truck’s cargo floor and arrested the driver, Muhammed Nuhu, also 22.
The agency said investigations indicated that the trucks intercepted on 21 June, 2 July and 4 July, together with their consignments, were linked to the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor.
At the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, NDLEA operatives also intercepted two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing a combined 4.70kg.
The consignments, concealed in cartons labelled “Odugwu”, arrived from Canada on British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on 24 June and 3 July respectively.
Two cargo agents, Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, were initially arrested in connection with the shipments. A third suspect, Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, was later arrested after allegedly attempting to collect the consignments from a logistics company.
The agency subsequently arrested a 44-year-old businesswoman, Chioma Nneka Mokeme, identified as the alleged owner of the consignments, on 7 July in collaboration with the Area C Command of the Nigeria Police in Surulere, Lagos.
According to the NDLEA, Mokeme, who said she was involved in the printing business, told investigators that a friend based in Canada, identified as Agbons Collins, introduced her to the illicit trade.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives arrested a couple, Christian Chukwuka, 32, and Nwanneka Christian, 33, during a raid on an alleged drug warehouse along Sapele Road in Benin City on 13 July.
The agency said officers recovered 22 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 219.5kg, along with compressed blocks of Canadian Loud with a gross weight of 192.67kg.
In another operation, a 38-year-old Chadian woman, Hajara Abdullahi, and her alleged Nigerian accomplice, Abdulkarim Jidda, 44, were arrested in Lagos following the seizure of 50,000 tramadol 225mg tablets intercepted in Kogi State on 12 July.
The NDLEA said investigations traced the consignment to the two suspects, who were subsequently tracked and arrested in the Apapa area of Lagos.
The agency also said its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) public advocacy campaign continued across the country during the past week.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohammed Buba Marwa (retd), commended officers of the MMIA, Lagos, Rivers, Edo and Kogi commands for the arrests and seizures.
He said their efforts had contributed significantly to the country’s ongoing drug control campaign and urged personnel to remain vigilant in carrying out their duties.
