By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized 12,385 kilograms of an Indian hemp variant known as Loud smuggled into Lagos from a neighbouring country through the waterways.
The Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi in a statement described the drug as a strong variant of Indian hemp, explaining that the 12,385 pellets of the drug were brought in through the Atlantic Ocean and ferried in boats to the Eko Atlantic Beach, Victoria Island.
The Indian hemp would have been distributed from the beach to drugs hotspots such as Lagos Island, Peti Alagba and others across Lagos and other states, he added.
He stated also that more than 50 narcotic officers stormed the beach on Saturday, November 27 and recovered the consignments along with two trucks and arrested three suspects.
Those arrested were Mr Abdulkadri Zakari, 24, Ka’abu Sausu, 45 and Mr Lawrence Adie, 27.
In another development, a 70-year-old woman, Mrs Beatrice Aigbedion was among the suspects arrested at Irrua, Edo in connection with the seizure of more than 5,000 kilograms of assorted illicit drugs.
“After days of surveillance, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, Nov. 24 stormed a warehouse at Uhiere, Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo, where they recovered 4,261.5kg of Indian hemp and arrested a suspect, Mr Ikong Stanley.
“On Tuesday, Nov. 23, 1,240kg of Indian hemp was also seized at a warehouse in Uzebba, in Owan West Local Government Area of Edo.
“At the point of her arrest last Wednesday, Aigbedion was caught with different quantities of Codeine cough syrup, Swinol and Rohypnol.
“Another dealer, Joseph Onyemaechi, 50, was also nabbed at Ikpoba Okha, Upper Sakpoba, Benin City, on Friday with different types of psychotropic substances weighing 2.055kg,” Mr Babafemi stated.
Similarly, Gabriel Akioya and Isa Salihu were arrested on Thursday, November 25 at Irrua, Esan Central Local Government Area of Edo with various quantities of Codeine, Tramadol, Swinol and Rohypnol.
Mr Babafemi stated that operatives raided Hampton Towers and Spa Hotel, Okpanam Road, Asaba, where Dobedient Etumudor and Thompson Chukwuemeka were arrested with different quantities of psychoactive substances.
He added that another drug dealer, Mr Emeka Ben, was nabbed with 4.7 grams of Methamphetamine on Asaba-Ibusa Road in Delta.
“Other suspects arrested on Thursday, Nov. 25 in the state for dealing in Meth, Indian hemp, cocaine, and heroin were Ifeanyi Odibe, Uche Onwurah, and Justice Obika.
“In Kano, a drug dealer, Alhaji Bukar Malan Abdu, was arrested and 143 kilograms of Indian hemp recovered from him while 466kg of the same drug was seized in the home of one Bashir Shuaibu, an indigene of Edo resident in Kano.
“On Thursday, November 25, a drug dealer in Maiduguri, Chima Obi, was arrested in a follow-up operation.
“The follow-up operation took place after the seizure of his drug consignment of 73.2kg of codeine at an NDLEA checkpoint in Postiskum, Yobe, on the same day,’’ Mr Babafemi stated.
Modupe Gbadeyanka