…seizes 3,975kgs skunk, 58,200 tramadol pills in Kaduna, Kano, Imo, Lagos raids; arrests 11 suspects
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) announced on Friday that it had thwarted attempts by organized criminal groups to import and export illicit substances to the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport and Tincan seaport in Lagos.
According to Femi Babafemi, Director of Media & Advocacy for the NDLEA, the agency intercepted 37.5 kilograms of illicit drugs in the past week, leading to the arrest of 11 suspects and the seizure of nearly four tons of skunk in Kaduna, Kano, and Lagos.
At the Lagos airport, a freight agent named Ogunsina Damilare was arrested on Friday after attempting to export 1.5 kilograms of skunk hidden in food to Dubai.
In a separate incident, an attempt to ship 11.5 kilograms of the same substance to the UK was thwarted when NDLEA operatives discovered the drugs concealed in a wooden sculpture at a courier company in Lagos. The shipment had originated in Ghana and was destined for London.
At the Tincan port in Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted a shipment of 24.5 kilograms of cannabis indica from Montreal, Canada.
The agency also secured an N8 million bribe offered by the importer, Cedrick Maduweke, who is currently at large. One of Maduweke’s accomplices, Steve Isioma Adigwe, was arrested in connection with the incident.
In Kaduna, NDLEA officers recovered 3,672 kilograms of cannabis sativa from two locations and arrested five suspects.
In Kano, the agency intercepted Kabiru Abdulhamid with 73 kilograms of cannabis sativa, while in Lagos, it seized 28,400 tablets of Tramadol and over 230 kilograms of cannabis in raid operations in Festac town and Lagos Island.
In Imo state, the NDLEA arrested a suspect named Amechi Moses and intercepted 29,800 tablets of Tramadol during a follow-up operation.
Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, Chairman and Chief Executive of the NDLEA, praised the agency’s officers for their arrests and seizures and encouraged them to continue their efforts to combat drug cartels in Nigeria.
He also stressed the importance of balancing supply reduction efforts with drug demand reduction activities.
