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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja, Desmond Mgboh, Kano
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted consignments of captagon, known as the “Jihadi drug”, and millions of opioid pills worth over N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, in a week of operations that also saw operatives crack open a fireproof safe in a drug den in Rivers State.
The captagon haul was seized on Saturday, August 22, following the arrest of Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, 49, a cross-border drug kingpin who arrived in Nigeria from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.
A search of his carton of local bathing soap, popularly known as “Ghana Soap”, led to the recovery of 47,200 pills of the amphetamine-based drug, concealed inside the soap blocks and valued at over N1.5 billion.
Aikins reportedly told NDLEA operatives that he was expected to deliver the consignment to a destination in northern Nigeria.
Captagon, which has been linked to the financing of extremist activities in conflict zones, was first intercepted in Nigeria by the NDLEA in September 2021 at the Apapa Port, Lagos.
In a separate operation at the same airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 2,787.40 kilogrammes and with a combined street value of over N4.6 billion.
The drugs were recovered from four abandoned consignments at the MMIA import shed.
Three of the consignments, containing 900,000 tablets of Tramaking, arrived aboard RwandAir from Bangladesh, while the fourth shipment, containing 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol, arrived through Qatar Airways from Amsterdam.
The consignments had been placed under surveillance after nobody came forward to claim them. They were subsequently retrieved on Friday, August 28, following a joint examination by NDLEA and Nigeria Customs Service officials.
Also, a United States returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, 31, was arrested on August 19 at Ikate, Lekki, Lagos, while attempting to take delivery of 3.35 kilogrammes of “Loud”, a potent strain of synthetic cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided a drug den in the Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt, where they recovered a fireproof iron safe.
The safe was cracked open with a welding machine on Tuesday, August 25, and was found to contain 237 grammes of Colorado, 316 grammes of cocaine and 10 grammes of heroin.
In Ondo State, three suspects – Oyedele Daniel, 42; Taye Saliu, 36; and Kehinde Saliu, 36 – were arrested on August 28 along the Ipele-Idoani road with 728 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in their truck.
Two other suspects, Uche Joseph, 35, and Godwin Umeh, 21, were arrested on August 26 with 341 kilogrammes of the same substance at Aponmu forest.
In Delta State, more than 176,000 pills of assorted opioids, including tramadol and Molly, were recovered in two separate operations conducted between August 26 and 28.
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While the enforcement operations continued across the country, NDLEA commands also sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns.
The activities included lectures in schools and worship centres in Gombe and Kano, an adolescent lifestyle programme organised in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in Benin City, as well as advocacy visits to the governors of Ondo and Taraba states.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (rtd), commended the MMIA, Ondo and Delta commands for their efforts and directed officers to sustain pressure on drug traffickers.
Marwa warned that traffickers were becoming increasingly desperate and were exploring every available means, including concealing illicit drugs in ordinary household items such as soap, to beat security checks.
Meanwhile, the Kano State Government has launched a one-year programme aimed at detoxifying, rehabilitating and reintegrating 10,000 drug offenders in the state.
Speaking at a press conference in Kano at the weekend, Chairman of the Kano State Multi-Agency Taskforce on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Muhyi Magaji Rimin-Gado, said the initiative was designed to tackle drug abuse and trafficking, curb gun violence and boost the economic potential of the state.
He explained that the programme was necessary because many offenders risked returning to drug-related crimes after serving their sentences if they were not provided with productive opportunities to rebuild their lives.
According to Rimin-Gado, participants will first undergo training aimed at helping them renounce drug abuse and trafficking before proceeding to detoxification and vocational training.
He said the beneficiaries would subsequently be trained in various trades and crafts to make them self-reliant.
“The current phase of the programme covers garment making, leatherwork, brickmaking and electrical repairs,” he said.
He added that the programme would eventually be expanded to include GSM repairs and other vocational skills.
“Our ambition is that within one year, these 10,000 youths will acquire one or two skills that will keep them busy, provide them with income and make them productive members of society,” he said.
Rimin-Gado explained that the rehabilitated offenders would not be given direct cash grants or equipment.
Instead, he said, the state government would support them to form clusters based on their areas of training.
“We are going to secure a location within their vicinity and provide the necessary equipment and capital. Those in the same cluster will be encouraged to register their business with the Corporate Affairs Commission,” he stated.
He expressed optimism that, given the size of Kano’s market, the registered businesses could grow into viable ventures capable of sustaining the rehabilitated offenders and keeping them away from crime.
