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By Philip Nwosu and Vivian Onyebukwa
The Nigerian Navy, Western Naval Command, have intercepted drugs worth more than N500 million and handed them to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agent (NDLEA) in Lagos.
Authorities of the Nigerian Navy said that at about 1am on Saturday, May 21, operatives of the force intercepted a boat laden with 463 large sacks of compressed contraband suspected to be cannabis sativa, popularly known as Marijuana.
While handing over the seized items at a press briefing on the update of some of the Naval activities, the Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship BEECROFT, Commodore AM Haruna, said the arrest was done during the routine sea patrol conducted by the Nigerian Navy Special Boat Service (NNSBS) off Lagos Fairway buoy.
He said that though the suspects at large, efforts are being made to apprehend them.
Haruna said the prevention of such large quantities of hard drugs from entering the Nigerian society, would serve to reduce drug intake that lead the youths towards committing crimes in the society, adding that it has also deprived owners of the contraband the funds to sustain their operations.
He used the avenue to warn drug traffickers and other economic saboteurs that the Nigerian Navy, under the leadership of Vice Admiral AZ Gambo AM, maintains zero tolerance to criminalities and will not relent in its drive to rid the nation’s maritime space of all illegalities, such as drug trafficking and oil theft, amongst others. He commended the patrol teams for their commitment and unalloyed loyalty in living up to the assigned responsibilities of the Western Naval Command.
Commander, Nacotist and Marine Commander, NDLEA, Isaac Uzah, described the handover as another milestone in NDLEA’s relationship and collaboration with the Nigeria Navy.
“The Nigerian Navy is one of the agencies of government that are supporting the war against trans-national crime, especially drug trafficking. The maritime domain is not only large, it is complex, and challenging, but despite those challenges, the Nigeria Navy is living up to expectation, specifically with the NDLEA.”
