Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have recorded a series of major interceptions across the country, stopping consignments of illicit drugs concealed in everyday items and disrupting supply networks stretching beyond Nigeria’s borders.
In Lagos, NDLEA officers uncovered quantities of Ketamine, Ecstasy and Tramadol cleverly hidden inside coffee sachets and book parcels bound for Zambia and the United Kingdom, following seizures made at a courier company late in December.
The agency also took into custody twenty-two Indian crew members of a merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, after 31.5 kilograms of cocaine were discovered hidden in one of the ship’s hatches at the Apapa port.
The vessel, which sailed from the Marshall Islands, was intercepted at the GDNL terminal, with the ship’s captain and crew now facing investigation.
Meanwhile in Oyo State, a long-wanted drug kingpin known in Ibadan as “Mama Kerosine” has been arrested.
The 65-year-old grandmother, Fatima Ilori, was picked up in an intelligence-led operation after more than 238 kilograms of skunk were traced to her drug network.
Another female suspect was also arrested during the operation.
In the North-East, NDLEA operatives dealt a blow to drug supply routes linked to insurgents in Borno State, arresting two suspects and seizing large quantities of Tramadol injections and capsules along major transport corridors.
Similar operations elsewhere led to the recovery of hundreds of kilograms of skunk in Lagos on New Year’s Day, while in Jigawa State, a suspect was arrested while attempting to move a large cannabis shipment from Taraba to Yobe.
The NDLEA spokesman , Mr. Femi Babafemi says these arrests and seizures reflect its sustained nationwide offensive against drug trafficking and criminal networks threatening public safety and national security.
Reporting By Nosa Aituamen