NDLEA busts drug syndicates smuggling Cocaine, Opioids to UK, Australia

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted consignments of cocaine and opioid drugs concealed in carton walls and destined for the United Kingdom and Australia, while also destroying over 65,000 kilograms of skunk during coordinated anti-narcotics operations across several states.

NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja.

According to Babafemi, the illicit consignments were intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on Friday, May 15, during routine examination of outbound shipments heading to the UK and Australia.

He said operatives uncovered 170 grams of cocaine carefully sealed in cellophane parcels and hidden inside the walls of a carton containing clothes bound for Australia.

Babafemi added that another shipment destined for the United Kingdom contained a range of opioids concealed in a carton, including 200 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 1,100 capsules of tramadol and 100 ampoules of promethazine injection.

In Delta State, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, raided forests and farmlands in Ukwuani and Ughelli North Local Government Areas where they destroyed a combined 65,000 kilograms of skunk cultivated on 26 hectares of farmland.

The agency said 27,500 kilograms of the psychoactive substance were destroyed at Ejeonu village in Ukwuani LGA, while an additional 37,500 kilograms were destroyed during another raid at Orogun village in Ughelli North LGA.

Babafemi disclosed that two suspects, Ifeanyichukwu Peter, 52, and Godwin Vincent Osadera, 30, were arrested in connection with the operations.

In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 42-year-old suspect, Husaini Suleiman, after recovering 361 kilograms of skunk during a raid in the Dan Magaji area of Zaria.

The agency also intercepted 1,989 rounds of military-grade RLA 7.62mm ammunition concealed inside bags of fresh cassava granules, popularly known as garri, along the Abuja-Kaduna highway.

Babafemi said a 35-year-old suspect, Abdullahi Hassan, was arrested while transporting the ammunition, adding that both the suspect and exhibits had been handed over to another security agency for further investigation.

In the Federal Capital Territory, NDLEA operatives arrested a 29-year-old businessman, Ogadi Peter, alleged to specialise in producing drug-laced cakes and cookies for parties and social gatherings.

Babafemi said the suspect was arrested at his residence in the Life Camp area of Abuja following intelligence reports, while 800 grams of skunk and 2.7 kilograms of drug-infused cookies were recovered from him.

The anti-drug agency also recorded additional arrests and seizures in Ogun, Taraba, Oyo, Edo and Kano states involving large quantities of skunk, opioids and other illicit substances.

Meanwhile, the NDLEA said its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign continued across schools in Oyo, Niger, Lagos, Katsina, Ekiti and Kano states as part of efforts to reduce drug demand and sensitise young Nigerians about the dangers of substance abuse.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the nationwide operations and urged commands across the country to sustain the balance between drug supply reduction and public sensitisation efforts.