. Intercepts 69kg cocaine, others going to UK; arrests ex-military officer, fake soldier, others for drug trafficking

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have sustained their nationwide offensive action against drug traffickers with strings of arrests and seizures including that of an Italy-bound woman, Mrs. Nnadi Nora Chinyere who was caught with 100 wraps of heroin and two parcels of the same substance at the departure hall of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos.

Mrs. Nnadi was arrested on Tuesday 3rd August 2021, during an outward clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight to Florentine, Italy. The drugs found on her were concealed in five containers of hair relaxer cream.

In the same vein, on Thursday, 12th August 2021, operatives of the MMIA Command of the Agency intercepted a United Kingdom-bound consignment of illicit drugs at the NAHCO export shed of the airport. Further investigation reveals the consignment contains 66.600kg of cannabis Sativa; 1.600kg of heroin
and 1.450kg of cocaine with a combined weight of 69.65kilograms, all concealed inside cosmetics.

Earlier, precisely Thursday 5th August, narcotic officers on routine patrol intercepted another consignment of 25.8 kilograms of cocaine and cannabis concealed inside foodstuffs going to London, UK at NAHCO export warehouse. When the export package was opened and examined, 2.3kg of cocaine and 23.5kg of compressed cannabis were discovered inside.

During a patrol operation along Akure-Owo road, a team of operatives from Owo Area command of the Agency equally intercepted a bus from Lagos en route Owo to Ibilo, Kogi state on 7th August. Recovered from the vehicle include six parcels of skunk weighing 3.6kg; 30 pinches of Crack Cocaine weighing 87grams and six sachets of Arizona weighing 265grams. Two suspects have been arrested in connection to drug trafficking.

Meanwhile, on Friday 13th August, Benue state command of the agency arrested an interstate trafficker, Eze Victor Ezenwanne at Apir- Aliade road, Makurdi with 65.436kilograms of diazepam tablets. The same day, a suspected fake soldier, Adeyemi Segun Olamide was arrested in Maiduguri, Borno state with 650grams of skunk while a Nigerian Army ex-staff sergeant, Muffat Ekong, and one Frank Iredia Obamwonyi were arrested on Wednesday 11th August with 286.3kilograms of cannabis at Ogwashi Uku, Delta state on their way to Enugu State.

Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has commended the officers and men of the MMIA command as well as their Ondo, Borno, Benue and Delta state counterparts for the huge seizures and arrests. He charged them and other commands to sustain the current momentum, assuring them that President Muhammadu Buhari recognises their efforts and would continue to motivate them to do more.