By Olukayode Idowu
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have saved Spain from getting 1.2 kilogrammes of cocaine smuggled into it via the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.
According to a statement by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, the success was recorded when a Spain based businessman, 50-year-old Francis Akajiobi, was arrested by operatives at the departure hall of Terminal 2 of the airport after parcels of cocaine weighing 1.20 kilogrammes were discovered in his pair of sandals while attempting to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Madrid, Spain.
Babafemi said the two parcels of cocaine were concealed in the soles of a pair of black sandals Akajiobi was wearing to board his flight when NDLEA operatives intercepted him last Thursday, and during his preliminary interrogation, he claimed the consignment was delivered to him at a bar in Port Harcourt, Rivers state and was to deliver it to his friend and neighbour in Spain for a fee of €5,000 upon successful delivery to the recipient.
In other clampdowns during the week, Makinde Lekan was arrested in connection with the seizure of 99 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 51.6 kilogrammes that arrived the SAHCO Imports shed of the Lagos airport on a Turkish Airlines flight from Canada via Istanbul, Turkey.
Operatives of the Special Operations Unit of the agency targeting syndicates that specialize in shipping large consignments of opioids into neighbouring countries from where they attempt smuggling them into Nigeria in smaller quantities through transport companies, have arrested one of the kingpins, Chukwuemaka Obodozie.
Obodozie was arrested in the early hours of Sunday 21st July at Cele bus stop along Oshodi-Apapa express road, Lagos with 100,000 tablets of tramadol 225mg loaded in two bags shortly after his arrival from Ghana via one of the transport companies plying the Lagos-Ghana route. The success followed an intelligence led operation which involved five months of surveillance around the accused.
No fewer than 17 suspects were arrested on Friday 26th July when NDLEA operatives raided the Owena forest in Oriade local government area of Osun State, where they destroyed 31,250 kilogrammes of cannabis on 12.5 hectares of farmland, while 84 kilogrammes of processed cannabis sativa was recovered along with a single barrel Dane gun.
Those arrested in connection with the crime include: Peter Osuya, 51; Zebron Ode, 46; Dogo Matthew, 35; Isaac Terna; Joseph Lawrence, 27; Ugochukwu Victory, 24; Olamilekan Abolarin, 26; Dele Ayibo, 44; Ojo Moses, 21; Nini Ayila, 27; Msughve Clement, 23; Chuks Ogeneku, 40; Dada Aribo, 20; Uche Endurance, 30; Patrick Agba, 21; Osakwe Kennedy, 45; and Ojo Babatunde, 29.
In Kaduna state, NDLEA operatives on stop and search patrol along Kaduna-Zaria highway on Saturday 27th July intercepted a 32-year-old lady, Ubaida Aliyu in possession of 573 rounds of 7.60 live ammunition, which she claimed she was attempting to deliver to bandits in Sokoto, while a suspect, Godwin Udochukwu, 35, was arrested in connection with the seizure of 25,000 ampoules of Pentazocine injection by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Kaduna-Zaria highway, another suspect, Alkasim Mikailu, 35, was nabbed in Kano on a follow up operation following the seizure of 37,880 ampoules of Diazepam injection along Abuja-Kaduna highway.
Two suspects: Abioye Adeniyi, 39, and Rafiu Lekan, 41, were arrested with 55 jumbo wraps of Ghana Loud by NDLEA operatives at Oloko along Badagry-Seme road, Lagos last Friday 26th July, while Samson Egwutouhi, 30, was nabbed same day by officers on patrol along Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway with 20 blocks of compressed cannabis sativa that weighed 10.5 kilogrammes. In Bauchi State, two suspects: Suleiman Yahaya, 50, and Ibrahim Bello (a.k.a Special), 35, were last Thursday arrested with 315 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 204.75 kilogrammes along Maiduguri bye-pass, Bauchi town.
Babafemi said with the same drive, commands and formations of the agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities in schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.
Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) while commending the officers and men of the Special Operations Unit, MMIA, Osun, Bauchi, Kogi, Seme, and Kaduna commands for the arrests and seizures, praised their pulverizing onslaught against drug cartels across the country.
He also expressed delight in the balance of their drug supply reduction efforts with drug demand reduction activities while urging them not to rest on their oars.
