Nollywood Filmmaker Arrested by NDLEA; Cannabis, Drugged Cakes, and Codeine Foun

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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