NDLEA RECORDS MASSIVE DRUG SEIZURES IN LAGOS, PORT HARCOURT

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), have intercepted no fewer than three million, five hundred thousand (3,500,000) pills of opioids and one hundred and sixty-three thousand (163,000) bottles of codeine syrup, with combined street value of over three billion, four hundred and twenty-eight million naira (N3,428,000,000.00) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and Lagos state. NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi said the bulk of the seizures: two million pills of tafrodol 225mg and 163,000 bottles of codeine syrup, was made on Tuesday April 29, 2025 during a joint examination of a watch-listed container by NDLEA officers, men of Customs Service and other security agencies at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers state. Babafemi said in Lagos, a total of 1,500,000 pills of a controlled opioid were recovered from a suspect, identified as Olarenwaju Wahab at the Alaba-Rago area of Ojo on Tuesday April 29, adding that the source of the consignment was traced to Q104B Road 25, Victoria Garden City, Lekki, which is the residence of one Obinna Kenneth who is now at large. In another development, NDLEA operatives at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos intercepted 42 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 20kg, concealed in tins of chocolate, milo beverage, white kidney beans and dark red kidney beans, packaged as part of cargos that came into the Lagos airport onboard a British Airways flight from Canada. EFCC spokesman said at least three suspects, including the receiver of the consignment, Monsurat Ewawunmi Lawson, were arrested between Wednesday April 30 and Saturday May 3, 2025. In like manner, Femi Babafemi said a businessman, identified as Bobby Morris Osas was on Friday May 2 arrested at the Lagos airport while attempting to board a Turkish Airlines flight to Italy with 8,130 pills of tramadol 225mg, 200mg and 100mg concealed in his luggage. Babafemi said an attempt by another syndicate to ship 104grams of tramadol and skunk concealed in bottles of body cream to Iraq through a courier company in Lagos was also thwarted on Monday April 28 by NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI). In Kaduna, he said NDLEA operatives on patrol along Kaduna - Zaria expressway on Saturday May 3 intercepted a commercial vehicle travelling from Nasarawa State to Zamfara State with a total of Nine Hundred and Forty-Two (942) explosives concealed in a sack and the subsequent arrest of a 30-year-old suspect Nura Sani Muhammad (alias Nura Hariji). Following the development, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) has directed that the suspect and exhibits be transferred to the appropriate security agency for further action. Still in the course of recent operations, NDLEA operatives arrested five members of a syndicate led by Aminu Musa (a.k.a Kadagi) on Wednesday April 30 at Dangoro market, Kano with 50 blocks of skunk weighing 21.6kg. In Uromi, Edo state, operatives acting on intelligence on Thursday May 1 intercepted a white Toyota bus conveying assorted opioids from Onitsha, Anambra state heading to Auchi and recovered 314,020 pills of tramadol, rophynol, diazepam, exol5; 638 bottles of codeine syrup and 200 ampoules of pentazocine injection, while a suspect identified Dare Adeyemo was taken into custody. A Mazda commercial bus marked XA343TSE was equally intercepted at Agu-Awka junction, Awka, Anambra state by NDLEA operatives on Wednesday April 30, while a total of 50,400 capsules of tramadol, 500 tablets of co-codamol and 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection were recovered and a suspect, identified as Chinedu Eneh arrested. In Niger State, NDLEA officers on patrol along Kontagora -Mokwa road on Saturday May 3 intercepted a Mitsubishi canter truck marked RBH 104 ZY and recovered 5,500 capsules of tramadol and 2,300 ampoules of pentazocine injection as well as the arrest of a suspect Yusuf Abubakar, 30. In a similar manner, after 10 months of painstaking investigation, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, April 26 arrested a wanted drug kingpin, the 52-year-old Managing Director of Ovidaq International Ltd, Dominic Chiegozie Obijiaku over his involvement in the importation of a consignment of 2,616,060 pills of tramadol 225mg intercepted by NDLEA at Apapa seaport in Lagos on July 28, 2024. NDLEA spokesman said a follow-up operation at his house in Lekki led to the seizure of 51 wraps of Canadian Loud weighing 34grams. He also said the War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, social advocacy activities by NDLEA Commands equally continued across the country in the past week. Some of them include: WADA sensitization lecture delivered to students and staff of Al-istigama University, Kano and students and staff of Government Girls Junior Secondary School, Kankia, Katsina state, among others. While commending the officers and men of DOGI, MMIA, Lagos, Kano, PHPC, Kaduna, Anambra, Edo, Niger and Apapa Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) equally praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for ensuring a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.