By John Ogunsemore
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a building engineer, Egwu Phillip Inya while allegedly attempting to take delivery of illicit consignments concealed in pressure machines imported from South Africa.
Director, Media & Advocacy of
NDLEA, Femi Babafemi disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday.
Babafemi said the 42-year-old Egwu was arrested on Monday, December 2 at Okeyson motor park Enugu when he showed up to collect three units of pressure machines inside which were hidden parcels of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 7.40 kilograms.
The NDLEA spokesman said the consignments had arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos import shed on November 29.
“Following credible intelligence, officers of the MMIA Strategic Command of the agency had monitored the shipment pass through clearing processes up to a logistics company’s warehouse outside the airport where it was to be collected by the consignee.
“The importer however changed the point of collection to Enugu at the last minute.
“As a result, NDLEA operatives in a follow up operation in Enugu arrested Egwu when he showed up to collect the consignments,” Babafemi said.
“In Lagos, a grandmother, 65-year-old Ramata Bola Adeyemo was on Friday 6th December arrested by NDLEA operatives at 62 Odunfa street, Lagos Island, where 20.6 litres of codeine-based syrup were recovered from her.
“Also arrested in Lagos was Alhaji Lawan Manga who was picked at Ogundana Street, Ikeja on Thursday 5th December while 4.7kg cannabis and 1.3kg tramadol were recovered from him,” he added.
Meanwhile, the agency said no fewer than 511,000 pills of tramadol were recovered from a Siena vehicle at Hildi, Askira Uba way in Adamawa state by NDLEA operatives on patrol along the road in the early hours of Friday, December 6.
Babafemi said the occupants of the vehicle had made a detour on sighting the NDLEA team and after a distance abandoned the vehicle with the consignments after noticing the operatives were on their trail.