The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has made significant arrests at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Two businessmen and a Canada-based nurse were arrested in connection with drug trafficking.
These arrests highlight the ongoing efforts by the NDLEA to crack down on the illicit drug trade in Nigeria.
The two businessmen, identified as Ihejirika Okechukwu Emmanuel and Iwuagwu Ikedi Victory, were apprehended while attempting to smuggle cocaine through the airport.
Ihejirika Okechukwu Emmanuel, a 51-year-old fish importer, was arrested on October 15, 2024.
He was trying to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Thailand when he was caught.
NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, revealed that a body scan showed Ihejirika had ingested five large egg-sized wraps of cocaine.
These wraps weighed a total of 400 grams.
Ihejirika confessed that he was promised payment upon delivering the drugs in Thailand.
He claimed the money was needed to boost his fish importation business.
Another arrest occurred just two days later on October 17, 2024.
NDLEA officials arrested 26-year-old Iwuagwu Ikedi Victory, who was traveling from Brazil via Addis Ababa.
A body scan showed that Iwuagwu had ingested 30 wraps of cocaine.
He had already excreted 29 wraps in Addis Ababa and handed them over to an accomplice.
Upon arriving in Nigeria, he excreted the remaining wrap, weighing 22 grams.
He confessed that he was offered N2.5 million to smuggle the drugs.
In a third major arrest, a Nigerian-Canadian nurse, Usman Grace Khadijat Olami, was caught on October 4, 2024.
She had flown in from Toronto, Canada, via Paris on an Air France flight.
During a routine search, NDLEA operatives found 70 parcels of “Loud” inside her luggage.
Loud is a highly potent strain of synthetic cannabis.
The drugs weighed a total of 35.70 kilograms.
During questioning, Olami revealed that her boyfriend had instructed her to bring the drugs into Nigeria.
She admitted that she was in the country to meet him and hand over the consignment.
This series of arrests underscores the NDLEA’s ongoing battle against drug traffickers targeting Nigeria’s borders.
The NDLEA also made significant seizures at Nigeria’s seaports.
At the Apapa seaport in Lagos, a joint operation involving NDLEA, customs, and other security agencies uncovered a massive haul of codeine-based syrup.
A total of 162,351 bottles were intercepted on October 15, 2024, concealed in two containers.
The NDLEA also seized millions of illicit pills at the Port Harcourt Port Complex in Onne, Rivers State.
On the same day, a watch-listed container from India was inspected.
Inside, NDLEA officers found 7.2 million pills of Royal 225mg Tapentadol and Carisoprodol.
The street value of these pills is estimated at N3.6 billion.
Additionally, they discovered 15.6 million pills of chlorphenamine hidden in 780 cartons.
The total street value of the recovered drugs from the Onne port is estimated to be over N7 billion.
In Bauchi state, another operation resulted in the arrest of a 33-year-old man, Sunday Jonathan Ogenyi.
He was stopped on the Bauchi-Jos road while driving a Toyota Sienna vehicle.
NDLEA officers found 76,600 pills of tramadol hidden in secret compartments of the car.
The NDLEA also made arrests in Ondo state.
Three suspects were caught with 672 kilograms of cannabis in Afo village.
The suspects, identified as Goddey Obizuo, Samuel Aniete, and Kuffrey Aniete, were found with the drugs in their possession.
In Edo state, a raid in Illushi forest, Esan South East Local Government Area, led to the destruction of 10,590 kilograms of cannabis.
This was spread across more than 4 hectares of farmland.
Two suspects, Benson Upuoni, aged 65, and Sunday Nwaeboyi, aged 35, were arrested during the raid.
In Lagos, NDLEA officers made another significant arrest on October 15, 2024.
Andrew Joseph Anoriode was caught with 3 kilograms of methamphetamine and 1.9 kilograms of cannabis along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
Further investigation led to the seizure of 241 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Badagry area of Lagos.
In addition, NDLEA officers arrested a suspected methamphetamine producer, Agbeiboh Oscar, on the same day.
Oscar was found in possession of 265 grams of methamphetamine and various chemicals used to produce the drug.
The NDLEA’s recent successes reflect their commitment to tackling the drug trade in Nigeria.
The agency continues to intensify its operations across the country.
These arrests send a strong message to drug traffickers that the NDLEA is determined to stop the spread of illegal drugs.
