Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 50-year-old Mgbeobuna Victor Eberechukwu for ingesting 77 pellets of cocaine at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu.
The suspect was arrested on Saturday, August 6, following his arrival from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, onboard an Ethiopian airline flight.
The suspect, who hails from Anambra State, passed out the 77 wraps of the illicit drug in eight excretions spanning four days.
In a related development, spokesperson for the Agency, Femi Babafemi, in a statement, yesterday, said 11.90 kg consignment was brought to the SAHCO export shed of the airport on Friday, August 5, by a freight agent, Adekunle Oluwapelumi Paul, 32, from Kogi State, who was promptly arrested upon the discovery that the seven cartons he presented for export contained parcels of the dangerous drug wrapped with foil paper and concealed in the heads of hundreds of smoked catfish.
The following day, Saturday, August 6, another consignment containing 1.45 kg of Cannabis sativa concealed inside granulated melon and crayfish and packed among other food condiments going to Dubai, UAE, was also intercepted by NDLEA operatives, who arrested 39-year-old Ajisefini Lateef, a freight forwarder that presented the cargo for export at the SAHCO shed.
Meanwhile in Kaduna, three suspects: Saifullahi Sani, Salisu Nafi’u and Abdulrazaq Mamman, were arrested in Zaria on Thursday, August 11, with 1,112,350 tablets of tramadol (225mg and 100mg) weighing 38.3kg, while in Kano, a female drug dealer, Saratu Abdullahi, 28, from Wurno Council of the state, was nabbed at Hotoro with 541 blocks of Cannabis weighing 245kg.
The NDLEA operatives also recovered a total of 1,773.25kg Cannabis sativa at Ebute-Meta, Lagos Mainland Development area and Akala, Mushin, council of the state in separate raid operations between August 9 and 10.
At the Tincan seaport in Lagos, 86 parcels of Cannabis indica (Colorado) weighing 43kg were recovered from a 40ft container during a joint examination with Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies. The illegal consignment seized on Friday, August 12, came from Toronto via Montreal, Canada and concealed in two drums inside a Mercedes Benz Sports Utility Van (SUV) in the container.
Two suspects, Nnanna Ijo, 58 and Orji Uguru, 29, were equally arrested on Friday, August 12 with various quantities of cannabis, heroin and cocaine at Nde-Agbai, Abiriba in Abia State, a week after Nnanna was released from detention over a similar offence committed in June.
While commending the officers and men of MMIA, AIIA, Tincan, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos and Abia commands for the seizures and arrests, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Retd) charged them and their compatriots across the country to always remain steps ahead of the drug cartels.
