By Seyi Odewale
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted three trailer loads of opioids at Abule Ado in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State.
A statement by the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi in Abuja, said three suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure of 3,450,000 pills and 344,000 bottles of codeine syrup.
According to him, the multi-billion-naira consignments were loaded into two 40-ft container trucks and another 20-ft truck at the AML bonded terminal in Abule-Osun, near the International Trade Fair complex.
He said the trucks later headed to a warehouse at Abule-Ado where the NDLEA officers eventually arrested the suspects and recovered the opioid consignments on May 9.
“Those arrested include the warehouse agent, Cosmas Obiajulu, 51; Ridwan Balogun, 25, and Banjo Tayo, 30, drivers of two of the trucks while the third driver jumped off to escape arrest, “he said.
In the same vein, NDLEA operatives on May 7, arrested a suspect, Nwankwo Ejike, in the Coker area of Lagos, adding that 100 litres of codeine syrup were recovered from him while 60 litres of the same substance were seized from Clinton Akinye in the same area the same day.
According to him, not less than 37.5kg of marijuana concealed in a Toyota Camry car was recovered from another suspect, Adegbola Segun, 47, when the car was intercepted at the Mile 12 area of Lagos on May 6.
Another consignment of opioids consisting of 59,106 pills of tramadol and different quantities of codeine syrup and rohypnol were also intercepted, he said.
Babafemi said the drugs which were being taken across the border to Garua, Cameroon, were seized by the NDLEA officers on May 6, on the Mubi-Yola road, Adamawa State.
“Two suspects linked to the drugs: Abubakar Auwal, 39, and Adamu Abubakar, 25, (a.k.a Bamanga), a trans-border trafficker, who was to take the consignment from Mubi across to Cameroon were promptly arrested.
Meanwhile, in Edo State, the NDLEA operatives on May 11 raided the Iguiye forest in Ovia North East LGA, where a total of 11, 636.185kg marijuana was destroyed on three farms, measuring 4.654474 hectares.
Babafemi said an additional 188kg of the same psychoactive substance was recovered and a suspect, Itah Nyong, was arrested during the overnight operation.
In a related development, a 75-year-old man, Jibril Audu, on Friday, May 10, was apprehended allegedly in possession of 7.5 kilograms of marijuana at Oke-asa village, Ijero-Ekiti, Ekiti state during a sting operation.
Similarly, another suspect, Tikwase Nytor, 70, was also nabbed with 15.6kg of marijuana on May 9.
Babafemi said Nytor was arrested during a raid at Achusa and International Market Road, Makurdi, Benue State.
In another development, the drug law enforcement agency said it has inaugurated special squads to curb open sales and consumption of illicit drugs in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The Commander of Narcotics (CN), NDLEA, FCT Command, Mr. Kabiru Tsakuba, who disclosed this in an interview yesterday in Abuja, said the approach would be through dislodgement of notorious drug joints, arrest of drug dealers, seizure of drugs, and prosecution of offenders.
He said the FCT was unique because it had an international airport where some flights come directly from drug-source countries and others from East African countries where hard drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, could be accessed.
According to him, some may find their way into the town, despite the interdiction efforts of the NDLEA officers at the airport.
“The FCT, by its nature, has high-income localities interspaced with low-income slums where drug peddlers can take advantage to deal in drugs.
“There are individuals that can afford to buy any kind of drugs of their desire or choice without having to bother in any way.
“These, among many reasons, therefore, create veritable opportunities for drug peddlers, like in other cities of the world, to trade in these criminal substances.
“Having said this, it is important to note that the command has been trying its best to ensure a drug-free environment in the FCT,” Tsakuwa said.
He also pointed out that the NDLEA has been engaged in combating the open sales of illicit drugs through two major approaches “Drug Supply Reduction” and “Drug Demand Reduction”.
The narcotics commander said NDLEA created these special squads to deal with actionable intelligence, as it comes in, to curb illicit drug activities through dislodgement of notorious drug joints, arrest of dealers, seizure of drugs, and prosecution of offenders.
Tsakuwa disclosed that the agency had also leveraged the existing relationship with the community to assist it with intelligence on areas where drug activities were high for effective control, adding that the agency had intensified sensitisation in schools, churches, mosques, and other organisations.
