[PHOTOS] NDLEA nab Europe-bound teenage student at Abuja Airport with methamphetamine consignment
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested a 19-year-old student, Benjamin Nnamani Daberechi, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) in Abuja for attempting to export 7.2 kilogrammes of methamphetamine concealed in crayfish to Europe, where he was going for undergraduate studies.
The adolescent suspect was apprehended on Wednesday, July 12th, with Methamphetamine during an outbound clearance of passengers on Turkish Airlines flight TK 0624.
Daberechi claimed to operators that he was a student on his way to Cyprus for studies, but a thorough inspection of his luggage revealed that he was in possession of 7.2kg of whitish substance neatly packed inside a sack of crayfish.
NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday said a field test of the substance however proved positive to Methamphetamine.
Meanwhile, a Lekki Lagos based female lawyer, Ebikpolade Helen, who specialises in production and distribution of skuchies, a mixture of cannabis, opioids and black currant has been arrested in a follow up operation in Awka, Anambra state following an earlier seizure of 5kg cannabis and 12 bottles of prepared skuchies in her apartment at Lekki.
While Abubakar Shuaibu was arrested on Thursday 13th July at Cappa, Mushin/Oshodi road with 86 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup weighing 8.6 litres in his Toyota bus marked FFA 241YB, two other suspects: Razak Ogunbo and Adeola Idowu were nabbed Tuesday 11th July at Ikorodu with 51 litres of skuchies. This is even as 372kg cannabis sativa and 48 bottles of skuchies measuring 48 litres were recovered from the home of a fleeing drug dealer at Akala, Mushin Lagos on Wednesday 12th July.
In Ondo state, operatives stormed a building at Ehin-Ala, Akure South LGA where they arrested one Abubakar Zayanu Gyambar, 28, with 162 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 1,944 kilograms, while another suspect, Henry Wilson, 50, was nabbed at Ogume town, Ndokwa West LGA, Delta State with same substance weighing 216.5kg.
A total of 45.41kg cannabis was recovered from Adam Hassan, 27, along Inga wa-Mani – Mashi road, Katsina enroute Niger Republic, while 70kg of same substance was seized from Mamman Nur Shettima on Saturday 15th July along Kano – Nguru road, Yobe state. In Kano, a suspect, Abdulhamid Lawan Bayaro, 48, was on Friday 14th July nabbed at Dan Agundi area, Kano with 114 blocks of cannabis, weighing 71.7kg, just as operatives recovered 50,000 pills of Tamol, a brand of Tramadol at Kofar Waika area of the state.
While a total of 912,600 pills of pharmaceutical opioids including tramadol were recovered from two commercial vehicles; one coming from Lagos to Kano, the other was intercepted along Abuja-Jere-Kaduna expressway, with a suspect, Sahabi Lawal, 25, arrested. In Borno state, 32-year-old Umar Tijjani Mustapha was arrested at Gangamari, MMC, with 55.25kg skunk on Thursday 13th July.
Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) commended the tenacity of the officers and men of NAIA, Tincan, Lagos, Ondo, Katsina, Yobe, Delta, Kano, Kaduna and Borno Commands as well as those of DOGI. He charged them and their compatriots across the country to remain vigilant.
