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By Emma Njoku
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 53-year-old physically challenged man, Ehiarimwiam Osaromo Emmanuel, at the departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, for drug trafficking.
NDLEA Head, Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi, who made the disclosure, in a statement, yesterday, said Ehiarimwiam, an indigene of Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State, was found to have concealed 5,000 tablets of tramadol 225mg in his luggage, last Sunday, on his way to Italy, via Doha, on a Qatar Airways flight.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect is a frequent traveller, who often travels with lots of bags containing mainly food items, body cream, hair attachment and drinks. The suspect was said to have presented his usual large consignment to NDLEA operatives for search, but held on to some packages, which were retrieved from him and properly searched, during which the drugs were discovered,” Babafemi explained.
Meanwhile, as part of ongoing efforts to demobilise and dismantle all organised criminal groups behind the production and distribution of crystal methamphetamine across the country, NDLEA operatives, last Monday, raided a suspected clandestine laboratory at the Opic Estate, Agbara, Ogun State.
Babafemi, who confirmed this, said clues from the property led operatives to another in the vicinity where one Peter James was apprehended with some quantity of the substance. He said: “A follow up operation within the estate also led to the arrest of a meth dealer, Mathew Bobby Imonitie, who was caught with 4.033kilograms of the illicit substance.
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A raid at a rented apartment in Raji Rasaki First Estate in Festac Town, Lagos, penultimate Saturday, led to the seizure of 412,780 tablets of tramadol and the arrest of one of the suspects involved, Kingsley Duru.”
In the same vein, troops of 81 Division of the Nigerian Army have handed over to the Lagos Command of NDLEA 792 blocks of cannabis sativa smuggled from the Volta region of Ghana into Ogun State, but intercepted at a checkpoint along the Ilaro-Benin Republic border.
In Niger State, NDLEA operatives, last Thursday, intercepted a truck conveying animal feeds from Lagos to Kaduna, with 449 compressed blocks and 111 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 1,531kg belonging to a dealer in Zaria. The drug consignment was said to have been loaded into the truck in Akure, Ondo State. The truck driver, Yahaya Sani, his assistant Samaila Rabiu, his motor boy, Bilal Ibrahim, representative of the cannabis owner, Awolu Isyaku, and a passenger, Mustapha Abdulrahman, were all arrested.
In Gombe State, operatives intercepted 811,000 tablets of tramadol, diazepam and exol 5 weighing 150kg in a vehicle loaded in Onitsha, Anambra State, at the Ahmadu-Kafi area of Gombe.
In Ondo, NDLEA operatives, combing the Ala forest in Akure North LGA for a drug lord, intercepted eight suspected bandits terrorising farmers in the area. Those arrested include: Austin Dickson, 47, who is the gang leader; Sunday Adekunle, 31; Kayode Oluwaseun, 29; Kolawole Kazeem, 33; Oladimeji Makinde, 37; Emeka Charles, 46; Ojo Oluwadare, 40; and Lanre Oluwajana, 44.
The suspected bandits were nabbed last Friday. Recovered from them include 25 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 296kgs; six explosive devices; six cartridges; four motorcycles and assorted charms used in terrorising farmers in the forest.
In Sokoto, operatives on Saturday intercepted a commercial bus from which two five CD loader players were recovered along Sokoto-Bodinga road. Upon search, 5.5kgs of cannabis were discovered inside the CD players and the owner, Nasiru Ibrahim, arrested, while in another bus, a suspected bandit, Sani Ibrahim, 37 was arrested with some ammunition and cannabis sativa, along Kware road.
An Abuja businesswoman, Onyinye Nwoke, 38, has been arrested following an intelligence-led raid at her residence, House 56 Aldenco Estate, Galadimawa where operatives uprooted fresh stems of cannabis plants grown at the backyard of the house. The uprooted plants weighed 18.4kgs, while 800grams of cannabis seeds were also recovered from the house.
Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd) commended the officers and men of the MMIA, Lagos, Niger, Sokoto, Ondo, FCT and Gombe Commands for the arrests and seizures. He charged them and their compatriots across the country, to intensify the heat on drug cartels in Nigeria, while balancing their efforts on supply reduction with drug demand reduction activities.
