The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) yesterday said it raided a ‘drug party’ in Abuja and arrested 60 suspects.
Its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, in a statement, said the Friday party was dubbed: “Go hard or Go Home, Pick Your Poison”. “The suspects comprised 25 males and 35 females; they were arrested at an apartment in Sun City estate in the Federal Capital Territory,” he said.
He said the raid followed credible intelligence about the drug party organised by one Stanley Ikechukwu, who was arrested at the venue.
“Six of the suspects – Victoria Adoga, Hamza Yari, Joanne Essein, Socchima Valentine Jago Imole, and Charles Indobuibisi – were arrested with different quantities of ecstasy and cannabis.
“The NDLEA Chairman, retired Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa has directed that 20 of the suspects, who tested negative for drugs, be released unconditionally.
“Thirty-three others, who tested positive to illicit drugs, were to be released on bail and will report at the FCT Command of the agency on Monday, to begin treatment and counselling,” he said.
In another development, four suspects – Endurance Okon, 24, Joseph Michael, 23, Ovoco Bright, 43, and Goday Abanum, 23 – have been arrested in a forest at Ugun, Igueben Local Government in Edo.
“They were arrested on Saturday, June 29, when NDLEA operatives raided and destroyed 18,632.22 kilograms of cannabis on 7.452 hectares of farmland,” he explained.
Babafemi said no less than 40.32kg of Loud, an imported strong strain of cannabis was, on Friday, June 28, recovered in a vehicle along Lekki-Ikoyi road.
This, he said, was when the driver jumped out of the vehicle after noticing that NDLEA operatives were on his trail.
He said that commands and formations of the agency across the country had continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA), sensitisation activities to schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities in the past week.
Among areas visited for the WADA enlightenment are First Technical University, Ibadan, Government Day Secondary School, Yola, and Ezeike High School, Nibo, in Anambra, among others.
In another development, the NDLEA yesterday said it intercepted 6,125 cartons of codeine syrup worth N7.3 billion in Rivers State.
According to Babafemi, the intercepted cartons contained 1,050,000 bottles of the opioid worth over N7.3 billion street value, at the Port Harcourt Ports complex, Onne, Rivers State.
The seizure, he said, made from six containers, was the third of such in the past four weeks, adding that the drugs were seized following credible intelligence and diligent tracking of the consignments from their port of departure by a special operations unit of NDLEA.
Babafemi also said the operatives worked in partnership with the Port Harcourt, Ports Command of the agency, and other security agencies, including the Nigeria Customs Service for a 100 per cent joint examination of the targeted containers.
“At the end of the joint examination of the six containers, a total of 6,125 cartons containing 1,050,000 bottles of codeine syrup weighing 157,500 kilograms were recovered, “he said.
Babafemi said the NDLEA officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, (MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos, arrested two passengers travelling to Doha on a Qatar Airways flight at the screening point of terminal II, adding that the arrest came after they tested positive to ingestion of illicit substances last Friday.
“The suspects: Aikhomoun Daniel (alias Oladapo Olanrewaju) and Ayigoro Omobolaji were thereafter taken into observatory custody.
“While Daniel excreted a total of 90 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.022kg in six excretions, Ayigoro discharged 60 wraps of the same Class A substance with a total weight of 662grams in five excretions.
“Further investigation revealed that Aikhomoun Daniel actually stole the identity of his late uncle who was once based in Germany.
“This is a decision he claimed he took to get a Schengen visa to enable him free access to Europe, while his real name is Oladapo Olanrewaju, “he said.
