The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) made a significant breakthrough by intercepting a shipment of cocaine concealed within 20 sets of religious books bound for Saudi Arabia.
The agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, reported that the successful interception occurred last Tuesday at a courier company in Lagos. NDLEA officers from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) conducted thorough searches of export cargoes bound for Saudi Arabia, resulting in the discovery of 20 parcels containing 500 grams of cocaine concealed within the pages of the books.
On the same day, officers from another courier company intercepted five parcels of a potent cannabis strain known as “Loud,” weighing 2.8 kilograms and originating from the United States.
In Kano, NDLEA operatives arrested a 22-year-old alleged supplier of illicit substances, Muhammad Mohammed, while on patrol along the Bichi-Kano road. He was found with 277 ampoules of pentazocine injection tied to his thigh and private area with Sellotape. Another suspect, Mohammed Abdulrahman Abdulaziz, 43, was apprehended in Nasarawa, Kano, carrying 68 skunk blocks weighing 30 kilograms.
Furthermore, a recent raid in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, resulted in the recovery of over 557 kilograms of skunk, 5.6 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 29.8 grams of heroin from a house on Major General Isaiah Allison Street. During this operation, four individuals — Sarimiye Suwa, 46; Roland Prosper, 34; Sarimiye Tare, 45; and Fidelis Ugbesla, 46 — were arrested. Furthermore, the NDLEA seized 1,100 kilograms of skunk from a delivery van in Surulere, Lagos, resulting in the arrest of the driver, Ismail Abdullahi.
In Kaduna, a significant operation in Zaria resulted in the recovery of 31,950 tramadol (225mg) and diazepam pills, while in Kebbi, officials intercepted a vehicle loaded with bags of charcoal containing 97 kilograms of skunk.
Abubakar Ibrahim, 50, Mustapha Aliyu, 32, and Bashar Lawali, 28, were arrested in connection with the seizure. In Abatete, Anambra State, Okafor Marcel, 48, was caught with 11.5 kilograms of skunk. Meanwhile, in Osogbo, Osun State, Ajala Mercy, 27, was arrested after 43 liters of a mixture known as skushi were recovered from her residence.
The NDLEA conducted successful raids on two cannabis farms located in the Egbeta forest of Ovia North East LGA, Edo State, where they destroyed over 3,700 kilograms of the psychoactive plant and recovered 136.5 kilograms of processed cannabis.
Furthermore, at the Tincan seaport in Lagos, Basorun Kayode, 40, a suspect who had evaded arrest for two years, was apprehended in connection with the seizure of 107 kilograms of Loud imported from Canada in 2023. Dauda Yakubu, another suspect in the distribution of illicit drugs in the seaport community, was arrested last Monday.
The NDLEA continues its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy efforts across the country, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive approaches to combating both drug supply and demand.
Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), NDLEA’s Chairman and CEO, praised the dedicated officers and teams from DOGI, as well as commands in Kano, Lagos, Kaduna, Kebbi, Osun, Zone 13, Edo, and Tin-can, for their commendable efforts in arrests and seizures. He praised their commitment to maintaining a balance between drug supply and demand reduction initiatives.
