The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested one Henry Chukwuneku Okamaru, also known as Lawrence IK Okamaru, a transnational drug baron, for his role in the seizure of a 2000.6kg Cannabis Sativa in a concrete mixer truck in Adamawa State.
The illegal drug was loaded into the concrete mixer truck with the Lagos registration number SMK 890 XB in Ogbese, Ondo state, and it traveled for two months on the road before being intercepted by NDLEA operatives in Adamawa.
Matthew Donuwe and Friday Nmborgwu were arrested in connection with the consignment last December after it was seized.
Okamaru was one of the leaders of a cannabis cultivation cartel operating in the Ondo-Ekiti axis until his arrest, according to further investigation.
He is said to have shuttled between Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, and Delta States, from which he coordinated supplies of illicit consignments to Northern parts of the country and Lagos State.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA Spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the drug lord has also been identified as a member of an international drug trafficking ring while he shuttles between Nigeria and South Africa, where he settled his family.
“He has a strong control and stake in cannabis cultivation in Ondo, Edo, Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo States, as well as large storage facilities in Lagos and Abbi, Delta State, from which his consignments are distributed year-round,” according to the statement.
Meanwhile, Nwakanma Michael Uche, a Nigerian living in Italy, was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja for ingesting heroin pellets.
The Imo State native was apprehended while attempting to board an Air France flight en route Abuja-Paris-Milan, Italy on May 15.
He was then kept under observation while excreting 95 pellets of the illegal drug.
According to him, After living in Italy for 12 years, he traveled to Nigeria to see his parents and complete his father’s traditional marriage rites. He also stated that he would be paid N1.5 million once the drugs were delivered successfully in Milan.
