A 70-year-old grandfather has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, with 57.2kg of cannabis in Nasarawa State and also seized over N2.1bn codeine-based syrup and Loud -a synthetic cannabis strain, at the Port Harcourt seaports and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
Also arrested by the anti-drug operatives were two suspects with 426kg of cannabis in Ekiti State.
The developments were made known on Sunday in a statement signed by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
The anti-narcotics agency also made other arrests in the FCT, Katsina, and Nasarawa states.
The statement read, “Large consignments of codeine-based syrup and Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis worth over N2.1bn in street value have been intercepted at the Port Harcourt seaports, Onne and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
“At the Lagos airport, the NDLEA officers with the cooperation of other security agencies on Friday, May 31, 2024, intercepted a large consignment of Loud, packed in eight suitcases, containing 320 parcels with a total weight of 164.50kg of the strong psychoactive substance coming from Canada on a KLM flight via Amsterdam, Netherlands.
“The consignment estimated to be worth N960m which was brought in by a passenger, Ughenu Nnaife Francis, was discovered at the E-arrival hall of the airport by personnel of the NDLEA, customs and others during a joint search operation by the security operatives while the suspect was attempting to smuggle the suitcases out of the hall.”
According to the statement, the suspect arrested at the Lagos airport claimed he was recruited to transport drugs from Canada to Nigeria for a fee of N6m.
The suspect said he was a resident of Germany but travelled to Toronto to collect the drugs and was caught with a large consignment of Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain, worth N960m.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex seized a container from India containing 1,750 cartons of codeine, weighing 26,250kg and valued at N1.225bn. The container, marked TEMU 6807401, was destined for Enugu and was discovered during a joint examination by the NDLEA, customs, and other security agencies.
The operatives also arrested a 25-year-old woman, Blessing Thomas, in Abuja on May 31, after finding 1kg of methamphetamine in her possession. She was travelling by bus from Lagos to Yola, Adamawa State when she was caught along the Kwali-Gwagwalada Expressway.
The statement added, “In the same vein, operatives in Nasarawa State on Wednesday, May 29, nabbed a 70-year-old grandfather, Muhammadu Ibrahim, with 57.2kg cannabis in Lafia, the state capital.
“Two suspects: Suleiman Kazeem, 35, and Sunday Gbenga, 20, were arrested when the NDLEA officers raided Ara forest, Ara-Ekiti in Ekiti State where they recovered 426 kilograms of cannabis sativa already processed and packed in big sacks, while they destroyed over 4,000kg of same substance on 1.66 hectares of farmland on Thursday, May 30.
“In Katsina State, 76 blocks of cannabis weighing 42kg were seized from a Nigerien, Suleman Audu, 29, when he was arrested by the NDLEA officers along Zaria-Malumfashi Road on Wednesday, May 29.”
