The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its clampdown on drug cartels across the country, arresting multiple suspects and seizing large consignments of illicit substances in different states.
Among those arrested was 75-year-old Uchelue Ikechukwu, picked up with 26.7kg of skunk at Umudioka, Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State on Thursday, August 28. Six others — Eneh Makuo, Emmanuel Chiemeli, Uwakwe Matthew, Chukwujekwu Ehirim, Ifeanyichukwu Olisa, and Odoh Chukwuma — were also nabbed in separate raids in Nkwelle and Amichi, Anambra, with varying quantities of opioids and skunk.
In a major operation in Taraba State, NDLEA operatives backed by the military and local security groups stormed Mayodoga forest in Sardauna LGA, where they destroyed a 71.5-hectare cannabis farm. The farm, belonging to 30-year-old Alfa Andrew, contained 178,750kg of skunk, while the suspect was arrested with a Dane gun on Tuesday, August 26.
The Agency also made significant seizures in the North. At the Abuja-Kaduna tollgate, operatives intercepted 104,900 capsules of tramadol hidden in a fuel tanker and believed to be headed for insurgents in Borno State. The driver, Hassan Buba, was arrested, while another suspect, Kabir Sulaiman, 45, was caught with 34.150kg of skunk in Zaria.
Further intelligence-led operations in Maiduguri led to the arrest of a major supplier, Uchenna Umeh, 33, from whom NDLEA recovered 30,640 pills of tramadol, 7,940 tablets of Rohypnol, and ₦7.99 million cash in new N200 notes.
In Nasarawa State, two suspects — Abubakar Dauda, 36, and Babangida Tungura, 47 — were arrested in Mararaba Karu and Lafia respectively with over 109,000 pills of tramadol, diazepam, and codeine syrup concealed in a freezer.
More seizures were recorded across Adamawa, Gombe, Kano, Edo, Ondo, Lagos, and Ekiti States, including:
- 15,000 capsules of tramadol concealed in animal feed in Adamawa.
- 250,000 tablets of Exol-5 in Kano.
- 164kg of skunk in Lagos.
- 5.3kg of Loud and Colorado and 2.5g of methamphetamine from a drug kingpin in Ekiti.
Meanwhile, NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns continued nationwide with lectures and advocacy visits to schools, worship centres, workplaces, traditional rulers, and government institutions.
Commending the successful operations, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), hailed the efforts of state commands for their vigilance and urged sustained advocacy to curb the menace of illicit drugs.