From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)said its operatives have arrested three suspected trans-border drug traffickers while trying to smuggle 48,000 tablets of 225mg Tramadol through Mubi, Adamawa State, to Cameroon Republic.
In another operation, the agency said it intercepted over 1,500 kilogrammes of imported Loud and other illicit substances in raids across Lagos and Edo states.
A statement by the director of media and advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi, explained that the suspects, Mohammed Hussaini, 32, Adamu Bella, 18, and Mohammed Umar, 18, were arrested at Tsamiya Junction, Madanya Road, Mubi, Mubi North LGA, Adamawa State, on Friday, January 28, with the exhibits concealed in packets of another drug.
When interviewed, they claimed the drugs were being taken to Bagira town along the Nigeria-Cameroon border, to be delivered to some Cameroonians for onward delivery to Maroa in Cameroon.
This is coming on the heels of a similar operation at Alaba Rago area of Lagos, where operatives of the state command of the agency intercepted 1,200 parcels of imported Loud, a strong variant of cannabis suspected to have been smuggled into the state from a neighbouring country with a total weight of 1,229 kilogrammes.
In another raid on Wednesday, January 26, at Suru Alaba, Ajeromi-Ifelodun LGA, Lagos, operatives arrested Ibrahim Musa, 25, with 18,530 tablets of Tramadol, Rohypnol, Diazepam, Exol-5, and 138 bottles of codeine syrup.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport( MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, operatives at the SAHCO export shed of the airport, during routine cargo search, intercepted a consignment of 22 international passports of six different countries concealed in a bag of gari, among other food items.
Nine of the passports were three each of UK, France and Portugal, while the rest were Nigeria, 8, Ghana, 4, and Cameroon, 1. Also at the airport, operatives equally recovered 12 parcels of cannabis weighing 4.95kg concealed in a carton of cereal packaged for export through the SAHCO export shed.
In Plateau State, a team of NDLEA officers, on Friday January 28, arrested two suspects: Emeka Ezenwa, 37, and Julius Akingbe, 45, for being in possession of 126.5g of methamphetamine, concealed inside a DVD player coming from Lagos; while a raid in Kampani Zera-Wase LGA of the state, on Friday, led to the arrest of Fatima Sadiq, 20, who was caught in possession of 21.3kg of cannabis.
A similar raid on Friday of a notorious drug joint in Bakin Kogi Ringim, Jigawa State, led to the recovery of different quantities of cannabis, Diazepam, Exol-5 and some other psychoactive substances, with a total weight of 8.680kg, as well as weapons such as knives, cutlasses, gora sticks, catapults and charms.
In Edo state, operatives recovered 19 bags of cannabis weighing 144.10kg stored in the bush along Uromi Road, Esan North East LGA ready to be transported to other parts of the country, while eight bags of the same substance weighing 111kg were recovered from a bush at Iruekpen, Esan West LGA.
Chairman and Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Retd) ,has commended officers and men of Lagos, MMIA, Adamawa, Plateau and Edo commands of the agency for their tenacity and vigilance. He charged them along with their colleagues across the country not to relent until the last gram of illicit drug is recovered from every part of Nigeria.