By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 101 parcels of cocaine concealed in children’s duvets at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
This was disclosed by the spokesman of the agency, Mr Femi Babafemi, via a statement on Sunday.
He noted that the illicit drug was brought into the country by a 52-year-old returnee from Brazil, Mr Akudirinwa Hilary Uchenna, who hails from the Oru East Local Government Area of Imo State.
Mr Uchenna was arrested on Saturday at the D-Arrival Hall of the Lagos airport upon his return from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Doha aboard a Qatar Airline flight, while the 101 parcels of the class A drug with a gross weight of 13.2 kilograms were recovered from his only check-in bag.
“During a preliminary interview, Uchenna, who claimed to be a carpenter, confessed that he was to be paid N5 million for trafficking the drug after successfully delivering the consignment in Lagos,” the NDLEA spokesman said.
On the same day in Lagos, NDLEA operatives seized 746.25 kilograms of cannabis during an early morning raid in the notorious Akala, Mushin area of the state.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives seized big pellets of skunk concealed in detergent containers at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, AIIA, Enugu.
According to the agency, a 37-year-old South African returnee, Mr Ezekwesili Afamefune, brought in the consignment weighing 730 grams aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Johannesburg, South Africa via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
In Edo State, the anti-narcotics agency nabbed a 24-year-old man, Mr Christian John in Egbeta, Ovia North East LGA for selling assorted illicit drugs which include sachets of drugged Milo beverage, cannabis Sativa, swinol, and Tramadol tablets In Zamfara State, one 30-year-old Mr Chibuzor Uba, was arrested on Friday with 1,955 ampules of pentazocine at Kaura Namoda area of the state.
“A cross-border drug trafficker, Stanley Chibuzor, 21, was on Friday 8th April arrested by officers of the Marine Unit of NDLEA stationed at Oron beach, Oron, Akwa Ibom state. The suspect, who hails from Ihiala, Anambra State was nabbed with 11,190 tablets of Tramadol during the outward clearance of passengers travelling to Cameroon.
“In Ondo State, a drug dealer who produces and sells skuchies, Oluwaseun Agboola, 25, was arrested on Thursday 7th April, at his Igoba, Second Gate, Akure residence where 73 bottles of skuchies weighing 77kg stocked in his kitchen were recovered. Skuchies are usually a mixture of Tramadol, Cannabis sativa, Codeine, Black Currant (popularly called Zobo) and water,” the NDLEA spokesman added.
While reacting to the several seizures and arrests, the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Mr Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers and men of the MMIA, AIIA, Edo, Zamfara, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, and Ondo state commands of the agency for their efforts.
He also charged them and their colleagues across the country to remain focused and abstain from acts capable of compromising or jeopardising the collective goal of ridding Nigeria of drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
