Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA have arrested a drug dealer from Brazil, Okafor Okwudili Moses, after 2.55 kilograms of cocaine was discovered in a toilet at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, in Ikeja, Lagos.
A statement released by the agency’s director, media and advocacy Femi Babafemi on Sunday said the drug was discovered in the airport’s toilet on Friday, November 12th, after it was dumped there by a trafficker who was obviously afraid of being apprehended by narcotic officers stationed at the airport.
The actual owner of the consignment, Okafor, arrived at the airport the next day, Saturday 13th November, via an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Brazil, and was promptly arrested. He confirmed he was the owner of the seized illicit drug while being interrogated in custody.
Other interdiction operations across the country resulted in the recovery of over 6,043.857 kilograms of various illicit drugs in five states:
Adamawa, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, and Ebonyi, as well as the destruction of more than two hectares of cannabis farms.
Abdullahi Mohammed, a suspected fake security agent who claimed to be serving in one of the security formations in Mubi, Adamawa state, was apprehended with four blocks of Cannabis Sativa weighing 4kg along the Bazza- Michika road. In the same vein, four other suspects were apprehended in Jimeta, Yola North LGA, with various substances including cannabis, diazepam, exol-5, and tramadol tablets.
Three people were arrested in Ondo state on Monday, November 15th, with a total of 2,771kg of cannabis recovered from them at Oke Ogun camp, Ipele, Owo LGA, while 59-year-old Mrs. Joy Peter was apprehended with over 39kg of cannabis and Tramadol tablets on Wednesday, November 17th.
Similarly, in parts of Ekiti state, over 2, 832kg of drugs were seized, and more than two hectares of cannabis farms were destroyed. On Tuesday, November 16th, 2,582kg of cannabis was seized from Itapaji forest, Ipao, Ikole LGA, while 250kg was seized from Ise forest, Ise-Orun LGA, where the cannabis farm was also destroyed on Thursday, November 18th.
In Ebonyi, 29-year-old Ivoh Chukwuemeka accompanied by his girlfriend Ogbonna Peace, 18, was intercepted along Enugu-Abakaliki expressway with 20.357kg cannabis on Friday 19th Nov.
Similarly, 377.5kg cannabis was seized from at least two suspects: Lucky Okhian and Aaron Monday in Owan West LGA as well as Okpokhumi forest in Owan East LGA of Edo state.
Reacting to the arrest of Okafor and other suspects as well as the seizures from the states, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) commended the officers and men involved in the operations across the commands for sustaining the heat on drug cartels in the country.
“We’re proving to the bad guys and death merchants that we’ll not just stay one step ahead of them, but two steps ahead of them in this game, and this is something we must maintain as we head into the new year,” he said.
