Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 74-year-old grandpa, Ikwuakalom Nwakoro Emeka, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, after a large consignment of cocaine was concealed in foil papers and balloons was discovered in his luggage.

In a Sunday statement signed by Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, the septuagenarian was arrested by operatives at the departure hall of the Abuja airport while attempting to board a British Airways flight BA082 to Heathrow, London, on Saturday.

According to the statement, during a search of his luggage, blocks of cocaine weighing 11 kilograms were discovered concealed inside food items, including ground dry pepper, carefully wrapped in foil papers and balloons.

In a similar operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence in the early hours of Monday, 9th March arrested a woman, Mrs Maryam Olalowo, at Ikad Hotel and Suites, on Etim Inyang Street, Victoria Island, while attempting to sell 89grams of cocaine and 20grams of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis.

The statement revealed that Maryam was found with her three children, including an infant, at the time of the arrest.

The statement reads, “She confessed the illicit drugs belonged to her husband, Ibrahim Olalowo Olatunji, who was later taken into custody on the same day, while his wife was immediately set free.

“Ibrahim confirmed ownership of the illicit drugs in his statement, while further investigation revealed that he had previously been arrested, convicted, and sentenced to two and a half years’ imprisonment for a similar offence in 2015.”

In another interdiction operation, “NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Kalilou Simpara and Saidu Ibrahim, at Ebetu Ero, Lagos Island, where they recovered 68,000 pills of tramadol 250mg and 225mg after they had loaded the exhibits into their truck and prepared to transport them to the Benin Republic on Monday, 9th March.

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“A follow-up operation was conducted on Wednesday, 11th March at Idumota market, Lagos Island, where the actual owner of the consignment, Nnamdi Cyprian, was arrested. A search of his shop led to the discovery of a parcel already prepared for waybill delivery, containing 1,000 tablets of tramadol 250mg. Another raid at Idumota market on Friday, 13th March, led to the arrest of Nwanosike Kelvin and the recovery of 47,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection from his shop.”

The statement further reads, “While a 42-year-old Magaji Dan Azumi was arrested at Bebeji area of Kano with 386kg skunk on Tuesday, 10th March, NDLEA officers in Abuja recovered 282.2kg skunk from a suspect, Isah Wako, 42, in Gwagwalada area of the FCT on Friday, 13th March.”

Also in Edo state, “NDLEA operatives raided the Egwa forest reserve in Aduan village, Orhionmwon LGA, where a suspect, Chinedo Odalonu,33, was apprehended and a total of 4,218.96kg skunk was destroyed on two farms, with 16.5kg of the same substance recovered.”

The NDLEA officials, in a joint operation with Customs officials, intercepted 339,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup concealed in two containers at the Apapa seaport in Lagos on Saturday.

The containers had earlier been watch-listed by NDLEA following credible intelligence on concealment of opioids in them.

Chairman of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, while commending the officers and men of NAIA, Lagos, Kano, Edo and FCT Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.