The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has intercepted three trailer loads of opioids comprising 3,450,000 pills and 344,000 bottles of codeine syrup at Abule Ado in Amuwo Odofin local government area of Lagos state.
The director of media and advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters Abuja, Femi Babafemi, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, May 12, said that suspects were also arrested in connection with the seizure.
Babafemi did not give a specific sum of the drugs’ worth but said the multi-billion naira consignments were loaded into two 40-foot container trucks and another 20-foot truck at the AML bonded terminal, Abule-Osun, near the International Trade Fair complex.
He said, the trucks then headed for a large warehouse at Abule-Ado where NDLEA officers eventually arrested the suspects and recovered the opioid consignments on Thursday, May 9.
According to the statement, those arrested include the warehouse agent, Cosmas Obiajulu, 51; Ridwan Balogun, 25, and Banjo Tayo, 30, both drivers of two of the trucks.
Babafemi said the third driver jumped off to escape arrest.
He said in the same vein, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday 7th May arrested a suspect, Nwankwo Ejike in the Coker area of Lagos where 100 litres of codeine syrup was recovered from him.
He added that 60 litres of the same substance were seized from one Clinton Akinye in the same area the same day.
The statement reads: “Not less than 37.5kg of cannabis sativa loaded in a Toyota Camry car was recovered from another suspect, Adegbola Segun, 47, when the car was intercepted at Mile 12 area of Lagos on Monday 6th May.
“Another consignment of opioids consisting of 59,106 pills of tramadol and different quantities of codeine syrup and Rohypnol being taken across the border to Garua, Cameroon was intercepted by NDLEA officers on Monday 6th May along 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.
“In Edo state, NDLEA operatives on Saturday 11th May raided the Iguiye forest in Ovia North East LGA, where a total of 11, 636.185kg cannabis was destroyed on three farms measuring 4.654474 hectares, while an additional 188kg of the same psychoactive substance was recovered and a suspect, Itah Nyong was arrested during the overnight operation.
“A 75-year-old grandpa, Jibril Audu was on Friday 10th May arrested with 7.5 kilograms of cannabis at Oke-asa village, Ijero-Ekiti, Ekiti state during a raid operation, while a 70-year-old grandma, Tikwase Nytor was nabbed with 15.6kg of same substance on Thursday 9th May during a raid operation at Achusa and International Market road, Makurdi, Benue state.
“The NDLEA commands across the country balanced their drug supply reduction operations with War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy campaigns to schools, markets, worship centres, and communities. Some of these include the WADA sensitisation lecture to Muslim faithful at Sultan Bello Jummat Mosque, Kaduna; students of Oduduwa University and Oduduwa Polytechnic, Ipetumodu, Osun; students of Nigerian Tulip International Colleges (Boys Section), Kano; students of Federal University of Technology, Babura, Jigawa; students of Father Tansi International College, Okpuno Awka, Anambra; WADA advocacy visit to Delta state First Lady Deaconess Tobore Oborevwori and similar advocacy visit to the Founder City of God cathedral, Cardinal James Omolaja Odunmbaku who was joined by Ojodu LCDA Chairman, Hon. Segun Odunmbaku in Ojodu area of Lagos state.
“While commending the efforts of the Lagos, Edo, Ekiti, Benue, and Adamawa Commands of the Agency for jobs well done in the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) assured that officers and men of the Agency will continue to work with local and international partners to ensure that the scourge of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking is brought to the barest minimum in Nigeria.”
