A Vietnam-bound businessman, Paul Mbadugha, was arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) operatives at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, after testing positive for cocaine ingestion. The 54-year-old was intercepted last Monday at the airport’s boarding gate during the clearance process for Qatar Airways flight QR 1432 to Hanoi, Vietnam, via Doha.
In a statement released on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi revealed that after four days of excretion observation, Mbadugha expelled 88 wraps of cocaine with a total weight of 1.71 kilograms. Mbadugha claimed in his statement that he is a Lagos-based businessman and had been given the cocaine pellets by a friend in the Isolo area of the state to deliver in Vietnam for a fee of $2,000.
Babafemi also reported that NDLEA officers at the export shed of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, intercepted a shipment of 800 grams of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, concealed in noodles destined for Congo. A follow-up operation at the Alaba International Market, Ojo, Lagos, led to the arrest of Nnamani Sunday, the sender of the consignment, who is involved in the GSM handset trade.
Furthermore, Babafemi disclosed that a large consignment of Loud imported from Canada was recovered by NDLEA operatives at Lagos Airport. The suspect, Desalu Temitope, who arrived on an Air France flight with six boxes, was arrested by anti-narcotic officers during a joint examination with other security agencies at the arrival hall. A total of 65.8 kilograms of the psychoactive substance was found in four of the six suitcases. Temitope reportedly revealed that he and an accomplice, who is currently at large, were promised $10,000 upon the successful delivery of the shipment in Lagos.
In a separate operation, NDLEA agents at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State, seized 892,400 bottles of codeine-based syrup, valued at N6.25 billion on the street, from five containers. The seizure was made during a joint examination of the containers, which were shipped from India, alongside Nigeria Customs and other port stakeholders last Wednesday. The bottles were packed in 5,337 cartons with a gross weight of 133,860 kilograms.
In Ekiti State, NDLEA operatives, supported by the Nigerian Army, other security agencies, and local community youths, raided the Ise Forest Reserve, Saalaja camp, in Ise-Ekiti last Wednesday, where they destroyed 21,800 kilograms of cannabis sativa grown on 20 hectares of farmland.
The following day, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Onitsha-Enugu Road in Enugu intercepted a Sienna bus marked SKA-24 AG, from which 200.2 kilograms of cannabis were recovered, and the driver, 41-year-old Okoro Emmanuel, was arrested.
Babafemi also reported the arrest of Joseph Apeh, 45, and Diamond Nnabuike, 21, with 145,400 tramadol pills last Monday in Gadar Tamburawa, Kano. Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Ogun State last Tuesday arrested 70-year-old Fidelis Egede and three others—Samuel Sylvanus, 31; Jato Samson, 33; and Francis Blessing, 28—when they raided a six-hectare cannabis plantation in Alaka Village.
In Abuja, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Kwali-Gwagwalada expressway last Tuesday intercepted a truck carrying 30,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection, leading to the arrest of three suspects: Ifeanyi Sunday, Jeremiah Paul, and Edet Ubokobong.
NDLEA operatives in Niger State arrested Ifeanyi Chukwueze in Kontagora town last Thursday with 28,500 tramadol pills concealed in a loudspeaker, while their counterparts in Kogi State apprehended Abba Yakubu with 40,000 tramadol pills on Wednesday, which were en route to Kontagora. Another suspect, Tochukwu Onah, 39, was arrested by NDLEA officers in Lokoja last Thursday with 1,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection.
Babafemi also highlighted that across the country, NDLEA commands continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, conducting sensitization lectures and advocacy visits to worship centers, schools, workplaces, traditional rulers’ palaces, and communities throughout the week.
Meanwhile, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and personnel of the NAIA, MMIA, PHPC, FCT, Kogi, Ogun, Ekiti, Kano, Enugu, and Niger commands for their efforts in last week’s arrests and seizures. He also praised the agency’s various commands nationwide for intensifying WADA sensitization lectures and advocacy messages within their areas of responsibility.
 operatives at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, after testing positive for cocaine ingestion.){kind=link}