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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 55-year-old Balogun Market trader, Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu, for allegedly attempting to export 3.30 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed inside cartons of foodstuffs bound for the United Kingdom.
Onuigbo was arrested on Thursday, July 23, a day after operatives intercepted the consignment at the export shed of the Lagos airport.
Investigators initially arrested three cargo agents — Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina, Adeleke Abiola Taoheed and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim — who had handled the shipment.
Their arrests led operatives to Kenneth Okakpu, who delivered the drugs to the agents, and ultimately to Onuigbo, identified as the syndicate’s kingpin. He was allegedly attempting to ship a second cocaine consignment when he was arrested.
In a separate case, 31-year-old entrepreneur Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo was arrested on Tuesday, July 21, at her Surulere residence after NDLEA operatives seized 2.80kg of “Loud” — a synthetic cannabis strain — that had arrived from the United States aboard a United Airlines flight the previous day.
At the Lagos airport, operatives recovered 2,240,000 Tapentadol 250mg pills, valued at more than N2.2 billion, from an Air Maroc shipment from India during a joint cargo examination on Friday, July 24, following processed intelligence.
Days earlier, on Wednesday, July 22, a separate consignment of tramadol hidden inside containers of black soap and destined for the United Kingdom was intercepted at a Lagos courier firm.
At Apapa seaport, a vehicle-laden container was found to be concealing 4,777 sachets of Canadian Loud weighing 2,388.5kg, worth more than N7.1 billion, during an examination on Monday, July 20.
Ammunition seized in Katsina, Kaduna
In Katsina State, 30-year-old Mustapha Sani was arrested on Wednesday, July 22, during a patrol at Baure, Safana Local Government Area, with 323 rounds of military-grade ammunition — 200 rounds of 7.62mm and 123 rounds of 7.6mm ammunition — concealed on him.
Along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway, another suspect, Abubakar Amadu, 30, was arrested during a stop-and-search operation at Jere with 73 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition hidden in kegs of red oil. Both suspects have been handed over to the relevant security agencies for further investigation.
In Edo State, a raid on Ilushi community in Esan South East Local Government Area on Sunday, July 19, led to the seizure of 1,286kg of cannabis and 86kg of cannabis seeds from a warehouse.
Separately, Ojore Onweze, 45, was arrested with 60kg of skunk, while George Agwumede, 30, was caught with 13kg of the same substance.
Sensitisation drive continues
Alongside enforcement operations, NDLEA commands nationwide continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
Recent outreach activities included sessions at Government Day Secondary School, Sabon Wuse, Niger State; Government Girls Secondary School, Shekara, Kano State; and Otto Primary School, Ebute Metta, Lagos State.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (rtd), commended officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI), as well as the MMIA, Apapa, Edo, Kaduna and Katsina commands, for the successful operations. He urged them and their colleagues nationwide to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
