The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized Colorado disguised in automobiles imported from Montreal, Canada, as well as packs of cannabis juice flown in from South Africa, both of which were intended for distribution before the Christmas season. These seizures occurred at Apapa’s Tincan seaport and Ikeja’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA).
In a statement, NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, claimed at least 12 suspects, including two dock employees and a wine shop operator, had been arrested in connection with the two seizures, as well as the recovery of 152 kilograms of skunk from two dealers in Kano.
Over 100,000 pills of tramadol in Imo State and 520kgs of cannabis hidden in soft drinks crates loaded in an Abuja bound truck.
Smuggled bottled cannabis juice with a gross weight of 16.50kgs was discovered inside a consolidated cargo from South Africa, at the SAHCO import shed of the Lagos airport last Wednesday .
Investigations by anti-narcotics officers subsequently led to the arrest of four freight agents, Soremekun Olalekan Wasiu, Olufisayo Dayo, Moruf Olusegun Bashir and Imole Moses Ajayi, whose statements eventually led to the arrest of the consignee, a wine shop business owner, Emebede Chuka.
Also, an attempt to export quantities of cannabis and ecstasy pills also known as MDMA concealed in beverage drink, Bournvita, containers to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, through the NAHCO export shed on Friday, December 23, was frustrated while a vulcaniser given the assignment for a fee of N4,000, Iyanda Ogunleye Yaya, has been arrested,” the statement added.
In the same vein, a consignment of 185 parcels of cannabis indica, popularly called Colorado, weighing 61.3kgs were reportedly seized during a joint examination of a container at the Tincan seaport, Lagos.
The container, marked MSCU5206726 from Montreal, Canada, was declared as containing three units of used vehicles.
A thorough search revealed two automobiles, a 2009 Toyota Corolla and a 2009 Ford Econoline bus, as well as used car engines, bicycles, shoes, and other stuff, including the drugs. Following their initial arrest by port security and police, two dock employees, Abdulquadri Abdulazeez and Ogbuji Kenneth, are already in NDLEA custody in connection with the seizure.
In Kano, two suspects, Nura Zakariya’u and Alkasim Abubakar, were apprehended with 161 blocks of cannabis weighing 152kg and various quantities of exol and codeine-based syrup, while a total of 100,000 tramadol pills were recovered from a suspect, Amaechi Johnson, in Imo State, on his way to Onitsha, Anambra State.
