A 40-foot trailer loaded with skunk, a type of cannabis, weighing 2,217.6 kilograms, was intercepted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, while it was being distributed to six vehicles at an abandoned petrol station in Kagini, Kubwa area of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Abuja, for further distribution to some northern states. The intelligence operation, which took place on Saturday, January 11, 2025 at 1:20 a.m., led to the seizure of not only the large illegal cargo, but also the trailer and six vehicles: a Toyota van, a Toyota Camry car, a Toyota Sienna bus, a JAC Hilux 4WD truck, a Toyota Corolla car and a Vento Passat car and also the arrest of a suspect: Isaac Monday Desmond, 42 years old. The cargo was loaded onto the trailer at Uzebba in Owan Local Council Area of Edo State.
In another raid in the FCT, two suspects: Anthony Nnamdi, 42, and Abba Ali, 27, were arrested by NDLEA operatives in Nyanya, where a total of 1,398kg of cocaine and a precursor substance used in the preparation of crack were recovered.
No fewer than 20 packets of cocaine weighing 330 grams were recovered from a consignment bound for Australia at a logistics company in Lagos by operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations, DOGI, of the NDLEA. The cocaine packets were concealed around the body of facial cream containers in the cargo.
A total of three hundred and thirty-eight thousand two hundred (338,200) bottles of codeine syrup worth over one billion one hundred and ninety million one hundred and sixty-eight thousand two hundred naira (N1,190,168,200.00) in market value, were seized in two containers monitored by the Agency following intelligence gathering.
The illegal cargo was discovered during joint examination of containers by officers of the NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies on Thursday, January 9th and Friday, January 10th, 2025 at the Port Harcourt Complex, Onne, Rivers State.
In Lagos, the traditional leader of Igunuko Shrine, Alpha Ajah Lekki Beach, where 2,760kg of skunk was found on October 25, 2024, Bariu Aliu (aka Malo) was arrested by NDLEA operatives after more than three months of surveillance. Although two of his associates were earlier arrested at the shrine last year and have been charged and convicted in court, Bariu is believed to be the ringleader of the syndicate. A suspect, Habibu Ya'u, 23, was arrested by NDLEA officers who raided Gadar Tamburawa, Zaria Road, Kano on Thursday, January 9, where they recovered 45 blocks of cannabis weighing 24.2kg and 40,800 opioid tablets, including tramadol.
In the same vein, the Agency's commands and formations across the country have continued their awareness-raising activities on the War on Drug Abuse, WADA, in schools, places of worship, workplaces and communities, among others, during the past week. These include: a WADA lecture for students and staff of Ijaye Housing Estate Junior Secondary School, Lagos State; Boko Haram members who travelled to the Hajj camp in Maiduguri, Borno State; Muslim worshippers during their Jumaat prayers at the Kamba Central Mosque in Kebbi State, as the Kano State Commander paid a WADA patronage visit to the Danbatta District Head, Dr. Mansur Mukhtar, among others.
While commending officers and men of the DOGI, FCT, PHPC, Lagos and Kano Commands of the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd) said that his operational achievements and those of his compatriots across the country, especially his balanced approach to drug supply and demand reduction efforts, are highly appreciated.
Femi Babafemi
Director, Media and Advocacy
NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja
Sunday, January 12, 2025
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