The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 48-year-old businessman, Nwankwo Onyebuchi, after 1.550kg of cocaine was discovered concealed inside the walls and railings of his luggage at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday.
According to Babafemi, Onyebuchi, a marble dealer in Lagos, was arrested at the departure hall of Terminal II while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to New Delhi, India.
A search of his check-in luggage reportedly revealed 1.550kg of cocaine factory-fitted into the bag’s walls and railings.
The suspect allegedly told operatives that he had sold his marble business and other assets to raise N23m to buy the consignment, which he expected to sell in India for up to N100m.
Babafemi said, “In a candid confession that lays bare the desperation that fuels the drug trade, Nwankwo said he had sold off his marble business and every asset he owned to raise the N23m he paid for the consignment, with the expectation of selling it in India for as much as N100m.”
The suspect remains in custody pending prosecution.
In another operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence raided a warehouse in a residential compound at 20 Hakeem Dosumu Street, Ago Palace area of Okota, where they recovered 3,776 cartons containing 377,600 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
The agency said the controlled substance, seized between Friday, August 7, and Saturday, August 8, was valued at more than N2.6bn.
NDLEA operatives also raided the residence of a 55-year-old suspected drug kingpin, Shoremi Kayode, at 37 Ogundare Street, Ipaja Estate, Lagos, on August 14. The operation led to the recovery of 324kg of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, valued at N972m. A Mercedes-Benz and a Toyota Corolla were also seized.
The agency reported additional arrests and drug seizures across Kwara, Oyo, Delta, Plateau, Kano and Edo states.
In Kwara, Abubakar Adamu, 50, and Bilyaminu Nuhu, 30, were arrested on August 13 around Kam Wire, Ilorin, with 55.96kg of skunk found in a truck marked DKA 350 XL.
In Oyo State, Abdulfatai Oyelaran, 70, and Abdulrauf Ajadi, 50, were arrested along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on August 12. Operatives recovered 52,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 6,000 ampoules of tramadol injection from their Toyota Sienna marked FFA-115KA.
Delta State operatives intercepted Osaro Ikpoba, 43, and Samuel Godbless, 18, along the Onitsha-Asaba Expressway on August 13. The agency said they were found with 124,100 tramadol pills, 786 bottles of codeine syrup, 2,598 tablets of rohypnol, 4,800 tablets of diazepam, 470 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 200 ampoules of tramadol injection.
Another suspect, Emeka Tony, 50, was arrested along the Kwale-Ozoro Expressway on August 12 with 1,244 cartridges and N8m.
In Plateau State, NDLEA officers intercepted a Toyota Corolla, registration number MKD 341 EA, along the Riyom-Jos Road and recovered 239,490 capsules of Tramaforce, a brand of tramadol. A suspect, Kasum Sherif, was arrested.
In Kano State, six suspects were arrested along the Zaria-Kano Road on August 10. They were identified as Okodili Ibeabuchi, 60; Onyeka Vincent, 47; Nwanko Wisdom, 36; Success Chigozie, 30; Emmanuel Jude, 27; and Chinedu Peter, 39.
The agency said the operation led to the recovery of 728,958 pills of tramadol, rohypnol and other opioids, alongside 360g of cocaine, 99.8g of methamphetamine, 50 bottles of codeine syrup and 2.7kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis.
Also in Kano, NDLEA operatives raided Zawaciki Gida Dubu in Kumbotso Local Government Area on August 14, recovering 171 blocks of skunk weighing 106.8kg. Mustapha Iliya, 30, and Abdulwahab Abdulrashid, 24, were arrested in connection with the seizure.
In Edo State, the agency said 4,628.9775kg of skunk was destroyed after officers raided two cannabis farms covering 1.851591 hectares in the Ugboku/Igbanke forest, Orhionmwon Local Government Area. A 40-year-old suspect, Agholor Elebojie, was arrested on one of the farms on August 12.
Another suspect, Kingsley Anigala, 28, was arrested during a raid on drug joints in the Oluku area of Benin City on August 14. NDLEA said 25.857kg of Loud and 93g of methamphetamine were recovered.
The agency said its War Against Drug Abuse advocacy campaign also continued nationwide, with sensitisation lectures delivered to students and staff of Madarasatu Sheikh Muhammad Rabi’u Arabic School in Kano and Olomu Junior Secondary School in Ajah, Lagos State.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended personnel of the MMIA, Lagos, Kano, Kwara, Edo, Plateau, Oyo and Delta commands for the arrests and seizures.
Marwa also praised officers across the agency’s commands for sustaining what he described as a balance between drug supply reduction and demand reduction efforts.